Tracey Carson

Mason City Schools, 2023 Pink Diamond Finalist

MADE Chamber & Community Involvement:

I am grateful for the powerful partnership with the MADE Chamber and Mason City Schools. I have most closely worked on our Community Basket partnership with the Chamber, helping to shepherd this important introduction for new residents to our community that has been around since at least 2000. I also have appreciated the opportunity to share personal branding tips with several Leaders are MADE women cohorts.
We have a community of dreamers and doers filled with great people rolling up their sleeves to make it even better. I am particularly grateful to serve on the Mason Kiwanis Board and the Mason Schools Foundation board - two organizations that are lynch pins for our community’s children. I am a past president of Mason Kiwanis and have co-chaired the annual Pancake Day Social (2nd Saturday in November!) since 2007 with Janet-Dane Nelson, an awesome women leader leading the way in business and philanthropy. It is a privilege to serve with people who make me better, and to get to stand on the shoulders of women like Dee Schuessler (Mason Kiwanis first female president) who have been torch bearers for female leadership in the 45040. Kiwanians are usually behind the scenes of initiatives positively impacting our community, and I definitely feel like I get more from this inspiring group of men and women than I put it.
When I started as the Public Information Officer in Mason City Schools in 2005, one of the tasks that then Superintendent Dr. Bright gave me was to help pull together a group of people to make good on an incredible $40,000 gift that Mason grandparents, Ken & Joan Campbell, had donated to Mason Schools to start a foundation. It is a joy to now look back and recognize that over the past 13 years, MSF has awarded over $1.1 million in grants to make teachers’ dreams for their Comets come true. From providing school supplies to all students in need, to funding innovative technology and furniture, to providing building outdoor learning spaces and funding authors/musicians/artists-in-residence, MSF is providing opportunities to go above and beyond for our students.

Fun Facts About You/Your Business:

I'm passionate about food! I love flavor profiles from all over the world, and make it a point to crowdsource restaurant recommendations when traveling. I am especially happy when someone is kind enough to share a piece of their food culture with me.
Also - fun fact - my husband and I have two children, who are 25 years a part!

A Bit About Tracey Carson

Tracey’s background includes both professional and academic experience in advocacy, community organizing, and media relations. Since December 2005, she has served Mason City Schools’ 10,500 learners and their families and community as the Public Information Officer for the Mason City School District where she develops, directs, implements, supervises, and evaluates a multifaceted internal and external public relations program resulting in proactive, positive, timely, transparent and effective communications.

As the Mason City School District's strategic communication leader, she is excited to tell the stories that are happening in public schools -- stories of smart, motivated and kind students, innovative and dedicated staff, and caring and committed parents and community members.

Tracey understands that it is a privilege to share the exciting and joyful learning that is happening in our schools. She’s always interested in finding new ways of communicating with constituents - ways that encourage feedback and learning, and create positive advocacy for our students and schools. Transparency and encouraging connections and conversations helps our district promote a fuller understanding of our mission.

Before joining Mason City Schools, Tracey was the statewide volunteer coordinator and grassroots e-advocacy director for the SmokeFreeOhio campaign. SmokeFreeOhio was a statewide ballot initiative to make all public places in Ohio smoke-free. On November 7, 2006, Ohio voters approved the measure to protect all Ohio workers and families from secondhand smoke exposure in public places.

Tracey spent five years advocating for smoke-free public policies at the local level working as the southwest regional policy coordinator for Tobacco-Free Ohio. TFO was a collaborative effort between the American Cancer Society, American Heart Association, American Lung Association, and the Ohio Department of Health. Funded primarily through a grant from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, TFO began in 1997 by working to develop and maintain local tobacco control coalitions and to provide youth tobacco prevention education.

Tracey also served as former Cincinnati Mayor Roxanne Qualls’ assistant. In this capacity, she developed public relations strategies dealing with diverse constituent concerns, coordinated media events, and managed City volunteers.

Tracey holds a Political Science BA degree with a concentration in Journalism from the University of Cincinnati.

Tracey serves as a board member of the Mason Schools Foundation and the Kiwanis Club of Mason, and was secretary of the Ohio School Public Relations Association.

Tracey and her husband, Jeff, are unbelievably lucky parents of Class of 2014 Comet grads, son (Jacob), daughter-in-law (Monica) and Class of 2039 Comet, Ella. Tracey’s future memoir is going to be called “Raising my 2nd only child, 25 years later”

Learn A Bit More

Why is being part of the Mason Deerfield Chamber important to you/your organization?

Like the sapphire, businesses and organizations have many facets. Which facet is your strength and why?

If your company culture, or personal persona, had to be summed up in five words or less, reflective of a
gemstone, what would they be?

Mason Deerfield has earned a national reputation as an innovative and inclusive community that is a destination for families desiring attractive neighborhoods and nationally ranked schools. Families STAY for our thriving businesses (large & small), great restaurants and shopping, beautiful parks, and easy access to the metro centers of both Cincinnati and Dayton, Ohio. A thriving business community employes our students’ parents, and becomes a key destination for alumni seeking to start their own businesses.

Optimism. I credit my mom’s rose-colored glasses for having a bit of an impact on me. I will forever be grateful for all the (seemingly) small decisions, shoulder shrugs, and just plain happy accidents that gave me some of the very best parts of my life - including my career here in Mason and my beautiful 2-year-old daughter. When facing tough decisions or events, I have been blessed (in general) to have a fairly sunny outlook which helps me press on and know that the best is yet to come.