Bill & Cynthia Cloughly, Owners
Bill has been in video production since the mid-80’s and has produced more than 200 commercials and industrial videos. He has worked with ESPN and Lifetime, and produced a music video for BJ Thomas, best known for his song, “Raindrops Keep Fallin’ On My Head”. Bill produced the video for “Broken Toys” from BJ’s “Throwing Rocks at the Moon” album, which aired on Nashville Network. Bill also started Chapter 957 of the Vietnam Veterans of America in Williamsburg VA, and is active in veteran outreach.
Cynthia is an ICSC Certified Marketing Director and has been in marketing and management since the mid-80’s. She served as marketing director for Patrick Henry Mall in Newport News VA for eight years and general manager for The Williamsburg Outlet Mall in Williamsburg VA for five years. She was also project administrator for the close-out of Phase I of Stonehouse in Toano VA for three years, and then served as advertising manager for Virginia Enterprises, Inc. in Newport News VA until 2007. She has received international and state recognition for her marketing programs.
Bill and Cynthia have been together since 1981 and are both cancer survivors. In 2004, Bill was diagnosed with Lymphoma from his exposure to Agent Orange in Vietnam, where he served as artillery forward observer with D Company 2/12 Infantry, 25th Infantry Division from January 1968, during Tet Offensive, to January 1969. Cynthia was also diagnosed in 2004 with malignant thyroid cancer. After several operations, hospitalizations and radiation therapy for Cynthia, and countless chemo and radiation treatments, operations and finally a stem cell transplant in 2007 for Bill, both are cancer-free and healthy today.
However, as anyone who has gone through an ordeal such as cancer can attest, it is a life-altering experience and in many ways a “wake-up” call. Although both feel confident they have won victory over their cancers, there is always that possibility it will return.
So, rather than spend what time they have left with each other working for other companies, they determined to put their five decades of combined talent and experience to work for themselves, and teamed up with some of the region’s most creative webdesigners and producers. And Smellycat Productions was born.
As to how we got our business name, well, you'll just have to contact us and ask!
