Michael Phillip Smith

TYLER — Michael Phillip Smith, community leader, devoted family man, and founder of Tyler’s oldest advertising agency, passed away on July 3, 2020, at age 74. A longtime Tyler resident, Michael started his agency, The Rénard Group, over 40 years ago with just one client. He then grew it into an industry leader in East Texas and beyond. Michael also was the owner and publisher of TYLER TODAY Magazine. He was a loving husband to Dominique, his wife of nearly 37 years, an adoring father to his two children, and a proud and doting “Pop” to his granddaughters.
Michael was born in Fort Worth on October 27, 1945, to Betty and Sam K. Smith. Michael’s entrepreneurial spirit was inherited from his father, owner of an auto parts supply store, while his beloved mother inspired his fierce loyalty to family and friends. After graduating from R.L. Paschal High School in Fort Worth, Michael attended Texas Tech University. Michael spent nearly a decade in Lubbock—learning to play poker, developing a taste for local politics, and, occasionally, attending classes. Michael found a mentor in Lubbock’s mayor, Dr. Jim Granberry, who hired him to work in city government. While still a student at Texas Tech, Michael became head of Lubbock’s health department.
Michael’s interest in municipal politics took him to Austin, where he served as Mayor Roy Butler’s top aide. But Granberry called on Michael’s services again, recruiting him to manage his 1974 Republican campaign for governor. After Democrat Dolph Briscoe won the election, Michael took a job with a Dallas investment firm and opened a magic-themed bar named “It’s Magic.” Michael eventually sold the bar but still wanted to work for himself. In the meantime, Granberry again had a job for him: move to Tyler to do marketing for a business in which Granberry was an investor. It was supposed to be a short-term assignment.
Upon arriving in East Texas, Michael immediately saw an opportunity for an advertising agency in Tyler’s growing yet underserved market. Drawing on his experience in politics, and after reading every library book on advertising he could find, he opened The Rénard Group in 1977 out of a maintenance closet in what’s now the Chase Bank building. The Rénard Group grew into an industry leader with a wide range of local, state, and national accounts. But it was just the biggest of Michael’s many endeavors. Ever willing to indulge his entrepreneurial spirit, Michael opened the State Bar and Deli on the Square in Tyler, which he operated during the early 1990s. In 1998, Michael purchased TYLER TODAY Magazine, which he grew into a thriving bi-monthly local interest publication that will continue to serve Tyler and East Texas into the future.
A staunch Republican, Michael was deeply involved in local politics and civic organizations. In the 1980s, he led a civic group dedicated to preserving the trees along South Broadway Avenue to Bergfeld Park, after which he served several terms on Tyler’s city planning commission. He was a founding member of the Crime Stoppers Tyler board, worked on numerous projects with Historic Tyler, was a member of the Order of the Rose, and lent his talents to several nonprofit boards, most recently for The Salvation Army of Tyler. Additionally, Michael advised and managed various campaigns for local office and was a fervent fundraiser for local and statewide Republican candidates. Some of Texas’ highest-ranking public officials attended events Michael and Dominique held at their home.
In 1983, Michael married the love of his life, Dominique Cronin, a Tyler native. Michael often reminded family and friends that Dominique was his unshakeable source of support and his most trusted counsel through every challenge and lean year he faced as he built his business.
Affectionately called “Smith” by many, Michael’s personality was larger than life. Happy to be the center of attention, he loquaciously regaled friends, family, clients, and total strangers with masterfully told stories and jokes. Michael thrived on human interaction and relationships, making new friends everywhere he went and forging connections with the most improbable companions. No one who knew Michael was surprised to learn he befriended his taxi driver while on a London vacation and convinced him to visit him in Texas. He had an innate ability to adapt to any situation and find a way to connect with strangers, an asset in both his personal life and his business. The highlight of his year was his and Dominique’s annual St. Patrick’s Day party. Every March 17th, friends, family, and clients packed the Smiths’ home until the early morning hours in a spirit of merriment and conviviality. The night always ended with Michael holding court in his library, tirelessly recounting ageless stories to his lingering, half-awake guests.
Michael was a voracious reader, often finishing multiple books in the course of just a week. His personal library is comprised of thousands of books; they fill his office, home library, home study, and—often to Dominique’s chagrin—various bookshelves, nooks, and crannies throughout their home. He especially enjoyed history and biographies, with a particular fondness for Napoleon Bonaparte. But he also relished poetry—he could recite from memory a host of poems, particularly his favorite, Rudyard Kipling’s “If.”
Blessed with a nearly photographic memory, Michael’s ability to retain and recount historical facts, even those he had acquired years ago, was legendary. His deep understanding of history formulated his outlook on everything from business to relationships to current events. It also sparked his appreciation for tradition. He loved his high school—the oldest in Fort Worth—Notre Dame University, the New York Yankees, the Episcopal Church (of which he was a member), and, of course, the Dallas Cowboys. And he loved them all for the same reason: each is steeped in rich and meaningful tradition. Even seemingly innocuous family traditions—such as what was served at Thanksgiving or Christmas—were sacred to Michael; altering them was out of the question. Michael also was an avid poker player and a fixture at Tuesday night poker games at Hollytree Country Club—a tradition that largely dictated his mood on Wednesdays. In 2009, Michael played, briefly, in the World Series of Poker in Las Vegas.
Though an aggressive and sometimes colorful businessman, Michael was a man of faith who enjoyed discussing and debating religion. Michael loved to loudly sing the most time-honored hymns off-key at church. He instilled his faith in his children, often through daddy-daughter dates, father-son dinners, and late-night conversations at the kitchen table or on the back porch. Above all, Michael will be remembered by family, friends, and clients for his boundless generosity and fierce loyalty. Michael valued family above all else, and he lived out his philosophy through the quality time and life experiences he gave his wife and children. The Smith family traveled the world together. Michael was committed to showing them history rather than simply teaching it—even if it meant commandeering a tour of London from a hapless tour guide Michael deemed unfit for duty. In his later years, Michael was particularly delighted by his young granddaughters, who adored trips to Pop’s library, playing “shark” with Pop in the pool, and learning mostly appropriate jokes from a man who had them for every age.
Michael met people in their darkest hour, supporting family and employees in times of tragedy and repeatedly opening his home to those who needed a fresh start or a safe place to stay. He cared deeply for his employees, none more than his trusted right hand, agency director Lani Reeves. Lani was instrumental to The Rénard Group’s growth and success and, by Michael’s choosing, will lead the agency moving forward. Though a demanding and occasionally irascible boss who could be set off by a poorly prepared cup of coffee, Michael was gracious and tender-hearted when real mistakes were made. A believer in multiple second chances, Michael had an unlimited capacity to forgive those to whom he was loyal and who were loyal to him. He also personally invested in his clients, many of whom became his closest friends, and he delighted in helping them achieve their dreams.
Michael is survived by his loving wife, Dominique; daughter Désirée and son-in-law Austin Kinghorn; son Wyatt Smith; granddaughters Christine and Victoria Kinghorn; brother Kirk Smith and wife Nanette; and numerous nieces and nephews. Michael and Dominique have been members of Christ Episcopal Church in downtown Tyler since 1986.
In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in Michael’s name for the benefit of Christ Episcopal Church, The Salvation Army of Tyler, or to the charity of your choice.
Plans for a celebration of Michael’s life will be announced at a future date.