3 former Public Relations Directors selected to receive 2026 Awards of Excellence

Honorees will be recognized June 24-25 in Canton, bringing number of recipients in category to 17 over 5 classes

Two individuals who worked side by side in the same National Football League team’s PR department for several years and one of the Philadelphia Eagles’ longest-tenured employees comprise the list of the three individuals chosen as Awards of Excellence winners for 2026 in the Public Relations Directors category.

Being honored in the Awards of Excellence program’s fifth class are Scott Berchtold, Jim Gallagher and Lee Remmel. Their selection brings to 17 the number of public relations personnel who have been recognized.

A cocktail dinner and awards luncheon to celebrate their careers and those of this year’s honorees to be named soon in four other categories will take place in Canton on June 24-25.

Scott Berchtold

With an NFL career that spanned five decades, Berchtold’s first full-time job in the NFL came in 1985, when Remmel hired him to assist in the Packers’ public relations department.

Berchtold spent five seasons with the Packers before joining the Buffalo Bills in 1989. He would work for the Bills for the next 34 years, including 23 years as a vice president and later senior vice president. His time in Buffalo began shortly after that of previous Awards of Excellence winner Budd Thalman (PR category, Class of 2023) and coincided with the careers of nine future Pro Football Hall of Famers.

An Illinois native, Berchtold worked 32 Super Bowls – four with the Bills and 28 on the NFL staff. For 12 of those years, he was selected by the NFL as the “PR captain” and directed the entire PR media operation for those games.

Jim Gallagher

Among the longest-tenured executives in the Eagles’ storied 93-year history, Gallagher spent 46 years in a variety of positions with the organization. At the time of his retirement in 1995, “Jimmy Gal” had been with the Eagles for all but 16 years of their existence as an NFL franchise. 
 
A Philadelphia native and Korean War veteran, Gallagher’s tenure saw him work alongside 17 Eagles head coaches and with 12 owners, GMs and team presidents. In that time, Philadelphia won two NFL titles and one NFC Championship. After first joining the franchise in 1949 as an office clerk, he was promoted to personnel director in 1957 before serving over three decades as the Eagles’ director of public relations. He also held positions as the director of sales and marketing as well as alumni relations director and traveling secretary.
 
Upon his retirement in 1995, Gallagher was inducted into the Eagles Hall of Fame, joining Leo Carlin as the only front office executives to earn that recognition. After leaving the Eagles in an official capacity, Gallagher continued to maintain a regular presence around the team’s practice facility and in the press box on game days until his death in 2017 at age 88.

Lee Remmel

Remmel served as publicity director (1975-79) and public relations director (1974, 1980-2004) of the Green Bay Packers for a total of 30 years.

Having also worked as a sportswriter for the Green Bay Press-Gazette from 1945-74 and as Packers team historian from 2004-07, Remmel was an eyewitness to the storied franchise’s history like few others. He wrote about the Packers during both the CURLY LAMBEAU and VINCE LOMBARDI eras in his first career as a journalist. During that time, the Packers won 11 NFL championships.

In his PR roles, Remmel worked under team President Bob Harlan, General Manager RON WOLF and head coach Mike Holmgren during the re-emergence of the Packers as a perennial contender, highlighted by their winning Super Bowl XXXI.

Remmel was inducted into the Green Bay Packers Hall of Fame in 1996, and the rebuilt press box at Lambeau Field was named after him in 2003. Remmel died in 2015 at age 90. 

About the Awards of Excellence

The Pro Football Hall of Fame established the Awards of Excellence in 2022 to recognize significant contributors to the game in “behind-the-scenes” roles. In addition to public relations personnel, the program honors career Assistant Coaches, Athletic Trainers, Equipment Managers and Film/Video Directors. These groups will make and announce their selections for the Class of 2026 at various times over the next few months.

The five groups presenting the Awards of Excellence create their own selection committees and set their own criteria for choosing new members. The Hall of Fame does not participate in any nominating or voting. 

Also at next year’s awards luncheon, the Pro Football Hall of Fame will honor the winner of its annual photo contest. Photographs taken during the 2025 National Football League season in the “Action” and “Feature” categories and entered in the contest are eligible for awards. A panel of professional photographers will judge the entries and pick first-, second- and third-place finishers in each category. 

The Photograph of the Year — chosen from the first-place winners in the Action and Feature categories — will be deemed winner of the 58th annual Dave Boss Award of Excellence. That photographer will be invited to Canton for the June 24-25 program, and his/her image will be placed on display in the Pro Football Hall of Fame.