You’ve heard his voice on the other end of a call from Bethel Park School District, and you’ve seen him from behind the camera taking photos of you in class, on the field or court, and on the stage. This is none another than James Cromie, Director of Communications and Public Relations. Mr. Cromie took over the position three years ago for Vicki Flotta when she retired.

Growing up, Mr. Cromie attended high school at Keystone Oaks. He was involved in the newspaper and homecoming committee. Mr. Cromie also enjoyed sports. He played basketball and football for the Golden Eagles.

“I loved growing up in Dormont and it helped shape my perspective on where I am now,” Mr. Cromie said.

He continued on to Ohio University where he majored in journalism. 

After college, Mr. Cromie got the opportunity to work for Disney. One thing he loved about it was getting to meet people from all over the world.

“Some advice I’d give is to focus on your skills and work on developing them,” he said. “Jobs are constantly evolving but skills are skills that you will always have. The ability to broaden yourself is essential.”

Prior to coming to Bethel Park, Mr. Cromie worked as Sports Information Director at Point Park University and then served in public relations in the Keystone Oaks and Deer Lakes School Districts. 

Now he has been working for Bethel Park for the past three years. 

“Something I love about my job is the diversity of it. One of the neat things is that you get the chance to be around so many students and it is a really dynamic job.” 

There is much organization that comes with his job, the flexibility that needs to be available, and having to plan everything.

“I like to make lists to keep myself organized,” said Mr. Cromie.

Being the Director of Communications and Public Relations is a job that requires a bunch of time outside of the office. 

That is one of Mr. Cromie’s challenges when it comes to doing this job. Although that can be a challenge, he always enjoys getting to write and photograph every event he goes to. All of the time he has to put into his job is worth it. He enjoys the excitement of Bethel Park sports games, witnessing kids achieve goals and more. He also loves going to Bethel Park football games.

“Watching the band play and the Bethettes and seeing how excited the school is and seeing students achieve things. I feel blessed to have the opportunity of witnessing students’ journey.”

“It’s a privilege to work here. I meet some kids here who I would like for my kids to become. The kids here are very respectful and kind. Bethel Park is a nice atmosphere to work and attend school,” Cromie said.

Some of Mr. Cromie’s skills that he likes to focus on is the ability to reach the people of Bethel Park. He spends most of his day writing and getting news across to people in the district and even beyond that.

He said, “Life is too hard if you don’t like what you’re doing. You can only become good at something you’re interested in.”

In the future, Mr. Cromie would love to travel more with his family. He went to Ireland a few years ago. He would love to go back with his kids one reason being he is Irish. He loves Ireland. He also mentioned he would love to go to Italy and more places in Europe and Asia. 

Something interesting that he did was go to two Olympic games. One in Salt Lake City and the other in Vancouver.

He mentioned how it is important and meaningful to him to tell his kids. He is excited to get to show his kids Vancouver this summer and where he went for the Olympics. He hopes to travel more in the future with his family.

One thing about Mr. Cromie is that he loves music especially alternative. He wrote concert reviews for a friend who ran a venue. He also mentioned that he used to vote for a friend for the AP Top 25.

Mr. Cromie is beyond dedicated to his job here at Bethel, and he works every day to make every news story the best it can be. He enjoys being able to work with all the students and teachers.

He said: “I feel a responsibility to share what outstanding kids we have. There are a lot of people who see negative things about kids and teenagers on the news. Part of my job is showing the positive things everyone does.”