Retired Senior Vice President of Communications
Buckner International
Scott Collins served as the chief public relations and marketing officer for Buckner International for more than 30 years, joining the Dallas-based organization after nine years on staff at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, where he was Director of Public Relations. He entered the public relations field after working in journalism as a newspaper editor in his native state of Missouri. He holds a bachelor’s degree from Truman State University and the Master of Divinity from Southwestern Seminary. An accredited public relations professional (APR), he has won numerous awards from the Public Relations Society of America of Dallas. He is also a four-time winner of the prestigious Katie Award from the Press Club of Dallas. He was recognized as the PR Professional of the Year by PRSA Dallas and the Buckner Communications team was awarded in-house PR Team of the Year twice under his leadership. He has served as an adjunct professor of journalism at Dallas Baptist University.
Scott has traveled extensively around the world and lived for two years in Botswana, serving as director of media for the Baptist Convention of Botswana. Scott built the Buckner Communications team from the ground up, starting with one other person and when retired, the team included 18 professionals covering every discipline of communications in today’s rapidly evolving environment.
During his 30 years at Buckner, the organization grew from an annual operating budget of $30 million to more than $185 million at the time of his retirement. In addition to his work with Buckner, Scott has served on the boards of several organizations, including Public Relations Association of America Dallas, San Marcos Baptist Academy, Hearts4Kids, and the Marsh Institute for Chaplaincy.
His wife Judy is a retired healthcare chaplain, serving hospitals and hospices for nearly 40 years. Their daughter, Claire Collins Bridwell, is married and works in marketing for Denison Ministries.
