About Tim
Click here to read the Monday Profile article from the April 9, 2007
issue of The Ledger
On December 4, 2009 at the 64th
Annual Joint Conference of Florida School Boards Association and Florida
Association of District School Superintendents the
Consortium of Florida Education Foundations
presented me with the 2009 STAR School Board Member award for school districts
with more than 50,000 students.
The Consortium is the membership organization for Florida’s local K-12
public education foundations with a mission of increasing resources, sharing
best practices and advancing the organization capacity of its members.
Click here to view the
Consortium's award announcement.

I began my service on the School Board
in 2006 and am serving my second year as the Vice Chairman. I am a
native of Greenville, SC, moving to Polk County in 1972 to attend
college. I hold a BA in Secondary Education and History from
Southeastern University (1975) and a Master’s Degree in teaching Social
Studies from Rollins College (1978). My wife Linda is a Certification
Specialist in the school district's Human Resources division.
Business experience:
I am the Operations Manager and majority owner of
Sign PostMan, LLC.
Sign PostMan is a real estate sign installation service. In addition, I am a partner in the real
estate investment firm, The Gaylord Group, LLC. Currently I
serve on the Board of Directors of MIDFLORIDA Credit Union, and the Polk County Real Estate Investors
Association. Previously I served on the board of
Lakeland Regional Medical Center.
Education activities:
I taught in Polk County Public Schools from 1975 until 1994.
Afterwards I served as the Contract Administrator in the district's
Facilities Division and a Resource Specialist for the Workforce
Education Department. From 1998 - 2006 I designed and coordinated annual follow-up surveys of
Polk County graduates.
Community involvement:
I am member of the Lakeland Chamber’s Leadership Lakeland Class XXVI. I
am also a member of the Kiwanis Club of Lakeland and the Lakeland
Chamber of Commerce. Currently I
serve on the Board of Directors of the Polk Education Foundation, and AMIkids-Polk.I have experience in dealing with growth
issues as a result of many years of residential property management and
service on local planning and zoning boards. I also have
experience in both the academic and career (vocational) education arenas
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Education
experience
School Board of Polk County, FL
District 7 (Nov. 2006 - present)
Teacher Resource Specialist
(1998-2006)
Designed and conducted annual
follow-up surveys of Polk County Public School graduates
Established welfare reform
initiative, Services for Teen Parents,
connecting school-and-work to ensure graduation
Developed databases of available grants and a
method of tracking grant expenditures
Contract Administrator
(1995-1998)
Coordinated relocation of over 150 portable
buildings per year; consulted with manufacturers to build new portable
buildings and ramps
Supervised and scheduled work by
subcontractors, which reduced outstanding work orders by 72%
Teacher:
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Lake Gibson High School (1993-1994):
Economics
American History
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Lake Gibson Junior High School (1976-1993):
American Government
Economics
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Kathleen Junior High School (1975-1976):
Area summer and adult schools |
Community
involvement
Current
The Kiwanis Club of Lakeland
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Lakeland Chamber of Commerce
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AMIkids-Polk, Chairman of the Board
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Polk Education Foundation, Board of Directors
Previous
Leadership Lakeland Class XXVI
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Polk County Citizens Academy
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City of
Lakeland:
Citizens Police Academy
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Citizens Academy
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Planning and Zoning Board
Citizen Advisory Committee
Zoning Board of Adjustments and
Appeals
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Northside Sunrise Rotary,
Vice President
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Southeastern University
Alumni Association, Executive VP
| Business experience Current
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Co-owner of
Sign Postman, LLC
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Co-owner of The Gaylord
Group, LLC
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MIDFLORIDA Credit Union Board of Directors
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Management of residential investment
properties
Previous Lakeland Regional Medical Center, Board of Directors
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Polk County Real Estate Investors Association, President Credit Union Directors Association, Board of Directors
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Personal information
Born in Greenville, SC; moved to Polk County in 1972
Wife, Linda, is a Certification Specialist with the school
district’s
Human Resources Division
Certification in Administration & Supervision (University of South
Florida)
MA in Social Studies (Rollins College) BA in Secondary Education and History (Southeastern University)
Diploma in Auto Mechanics (Greenville [SC] Tech)
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My Strengths IncludeExperience in policy decision making at the corporate board level Experience in dealing with growth issues as a result of many years of service on local planning and zoning boards Experience in the classroom and in two different divisions at the school district level
Experience in both the academic and career (vocational) education arenas, as well as experience dealing with school facilities
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Political
Advertisement Paid for and Approved by Tim Harris for School Board,
District 7
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