Carmen and Tony Messineo Community Involvement Award

Carmen and Tony Messineo have long been active members of the community and have demonstrated a consistent interest in the causes that serve young people. They have unfailingly gone the extra mile on behalf of all children, and have been particularly supportive of the TeamMates Mentoring Program of Lincoln.  For this reason, we named the Carmen and Tony Messineo Community Involvement Award in their honor.

This award was introduced in 2008 and celebrates the individuals, businesses, faith-based groups, and community organizations that have partnered with TeamMates, demonstrating a continuum of support for the TeamMates program and its goals.

2024 Carmen and Tony Messineo Community Involvement Award Winner

Barbara Bartle was president of the Foundation for Lincoln Public Schools in 1991, just as the seeds of Lincoln TeamMates were being planted. The foundation, as part of an LPS volunteer program called Ventures in Partnership, worked with Tom and Nancy Osborne to help them launch TeamMates Mentoring Program, 33 years old and 191 chapters strong today. 

Barbara remembers the excitement and energy around what was then a new, untested initiative. She wanted to experience being a TeamMate herself, and was soon matched with Carly Grutel, a 5th grader who wanted another caring adult in her corner. 

Their transformative journey was featured in 55+ magazine in Winter 2022. Grutel describes her mentor Barbara as a guide, a friend and “someone who had expectations of her that she didn’t have anywhere else.” Years later, they would even become coworkers. 

During Barbara’s tenure as president of the Lincoln Community Foundation, she again played a critical role for Lincoln TeamMates as Give to Lincoln Day was born. The chance to serve our students through this community-wide campaign just keeps growing.

Thank you, Barbara!

Past Award Winners Include: