Farewell Newsletter

The End of my Weekly Newsletter

When I was growing up, I wanted to be a movie director. Ever since watching those classic 80s movies as a kid, I have wanted to work in Hollywood. I have been close (three scripts with major actors attached), but as you know, it never happened.

College and my Early Career

The closest major I could find at Texas A&M to filmmaking was marketing. I dreamt of being in advertising. However, when I graduated from college in 2000, the dot-com bust occurred. The job fairs from the semester before with hundreds of companies dwindled to about 35 by the time I graduated. I settled on sales.

I hated sales with a passion. Before the internet was prevalent and social media wasn't off the ground, sales were all about cold calling. I could not stand bothering people. And to top it off, during my tenure as a salesperson, 9/11 happened. I didn't lose my job, but nobody was buying. After watching a season of Boston Public, I decided to quit sales completely and become a teacher. I went back to the only place I knew. The school district I grew up in, graduated from and became a sub.

I Become a Teacher

Being a sub led to becoming a long-term sub, and the long-term substitute teaching led to a full-time job as a Texas history teacher in the middle school I attended as a kid. In addition to my classroom duties, I took every job I could to earn extra money and become more attached to the school. I worked at the football games, I worked at UIL, and I was a coach for academic competitions. I took over the Falcom Broadcast News (FBN) class, making daily announcements with 8th-grade students.

It was FBN where people in CFBISD started noticing me. Instead of daily announcements, I transformed the class into radio, television, and film. We did radio broadcasts, filmed short videos, and made 30-minute films they would play during advisory class for the whole school. One class turned into three classes on top of my Texas history classes. However, I started to become burned out of teaching.

The Burn Out of Middle School

In the summer of 2005, I started to intern at a company where my father worked. I was training to become a construction project manager. I quit my teaching role at Dan F. Long Middle School and decided to try my hand at construction. I was offered a full-time job at the end of the summer, but I also decided to take a role at an advertising firm I interviewed with. Minutes before accepting the job, I received a phone call from CFBISD asking if I would like to interview for a video production teacher at one of their high schools in a special program called The Academy for Media Arts and Technology. I interviewed and got the teaching gig.

A Near Miss from Leaving Education

I did the same thing at AMAT as with Falcon Broadcast News. I turned the classes into movie-making classes instead of the traditional morning announcement curriculum. Several short films went on to earn major accolades at the Dallas Film Festival and South by Southwest. We took trips and interacted with movie stars at the Sundance Film Festival. I eventually became the program director and continued at the school for eight years. All the time, working on football games and film projects for the school district. I worked Thursday and Friday nights and most Saturdays during those eight years. I only missed three games during my eight-year tenure, so I had no life except working.

Entry to School Communications

During those eight years, CFBISD noticed that charter schools were beginning to reduce enrollment across campuses. They made a bold move at the time and created one of the first marketing positions in a school district in the DFW metroplex. Due to my work on projects for the CFBISD Communication Department, I got an interview for the position and got the role. I worked as Marketing Coordinator and Director of Communications for the district. I took a risk-taking approach to my roles and created some innovative campaigns and projects during my time. I ran into roadblocks along the way in an industry that does not seem keen on risk-taking and being creative. I continued to be different.

Welcome to Garland ISD

While speaking at TSPRA's spring conference in 2021, I met Garland ISD. I had no intention of leaving CFBISD, but after loving my presentation, GISD wanted me to apply for the Director of Communications position. At first, I didn't respond, but my wife, kids, and I had just built a home in GISD, so I decided to interview and receive the job. Two years as Director of Communications and now two years as Executive Director of Communications, overseeing many departments within our Communications, Marketing, and Media Relations Departments. I continue to take risks. I continue to be creative. I want to be the Nike of School marketing.

Outside my Normal Job Duties

In my almost 12 years in school communications and public relations, I have spoken nationwide, giving keynotes and presentations to different organizations and SPRAs. I have logged many airline miles. My speaking gigs started because my presentation on Content Marketing was rejected by TSPRA but picked up by NSPRA. It got an incredible reception, and several SPRAs invited me to speak at their conferences. I love talking and sharing my knowledge. Over the years, I have created blogs, podcasts, and free reports to help other professionals in our industry navigate school marketing. If you follow me on LinkedIn, I usually drop at least an idea a week to educate others. It does wear me out, but I continue to march on. Well, not much longer.

I say Goodbye to Extra Content… for a while…

I wrote my long-winded professional life story as a possible swan song to let you know I am ending my weekly newsletter and taking a break from blogging and other content outside my regular job. The newsletter never took off as I hoped. My blog has readers, but it hasn't made an enormous impact. Recently, the committee rejected my proposal to speak at NSPRA. The rejection hurt. My sessions are always well-received and usually standing-room only. The remarks afterward are always highly positive. My proposal didn't resonate, making me evaluate what I do.

Keep Working Hard. Take Risks

I respect everyone in school communications and marketing. Keep up the hard work. I will watch from the sidelines as I step back from speaking and making extra content. Watch GISD as we continue to innovate and be creative. Have a great week.