The Barry Gaskins Mentor Legacy Award recognizes a practicing school public relations professional for: outstanding efforts in mentoring colleagues new to school public relations; providing counsel and advice on job success; and assisting colleagues in their professional development by creating or providing programs and activities designed to improve PR skills and knowledge.

2011 Barry Gaskins Mentor Legacy Award Recipient

Tim Carroll, APR
Director of Public Information, Allen (Texas) ISD

Since entering the school public relations profession in 1981, Tim Carroll, APR, has not only dedicated himself to elevating the practice of public relations in education but also to helping his colleagues hone their skills and abilities in order to better serve our schools.

From the start of his school PR career, Tim has been actively engaged at both the state chapter and national level. He was instrumental in chartering the Indiana School Public Relations Association (INSPRA) in 1982, freely sharing his time and expertise as a volunteer, presenter and writer. He also served as INSPRA’s executive director for four years when it was struggling to stay active. In addition to his school PR position, Tim taught a graduate level course for six years in School and Community Relations at Indiana University-South Bend Campus. Today he is an adjunct faculty member in the public relations department at Texas A&M University-Commerce where he has introduced many young professionals to school public relations and helped to open doors for them to positions in school districts.

Over the years Tim has mentored many NSPRA members, not only in Texas and Indiana, but across the country. He helped to develop and provide training for Missouri and Oklahoma public relations practitioners in the vocational education field and is a popular presenter at the NSPRA Seminar and chapter conferences in his region.

He regularly serves as a Counselor on Call at the NSPRA Seminar and is known as someone who is only a phone call away in a crisis or when a challenging communication issue presents itself. He is a long-time advocate of Accreditation in Public Relations, chairing TSPRA’s Accreditation Committee for three years and helping to coordinate the chapter’s APR academy. In 2006 he received the TSPRA Professional Achievement Award for service to the chapter and its members.

There is no higher praise for this award than the words of colleague Cody Cunningham, chief communications officer in McKinney (Texas) ISD – “Tim truly cares about the future of public schools, kids, and those with whom he works each day. He is both a great mentor and friend to hundreds of individuals in school PR, and both the profession and many individuals, including myself, owe him a debt of gratitude.”

Complete List of Previous Award Recipients 

Award Criteria and Nomination Form  

Information About Barry Gaskins 

Deadline Extended to February 27, 2012