Thanks to Bob Howe for inviting me to present at the Michigan Elementary & Middle School Principals Association Summer Leadership Institute! I was met at the airport by Rachel Turner, a delightful first-year elementary principal. Talking with her reminds me of the challenges of leadership at the school level, especially the challenges of beginning leadership.

Time management is a challenge for any school leader, and that is the reason for my invitation. We will be conducting a full-day workshop. I have refined some points in the workshop and will going into more detail about the use of the BlackBerry as a time management tool. This should be fun experience for all of us, and I hope that it provides principals with some tools that will increase their productivity and decrease stress for years to come.

Folks must have known I was coming, because at check-in, I was given just-out-of-the-oven chocolate chip cookies. In my room was a tin of cookies and a nice note from Bob.

The hospitality is great, as evidenced by this gathering.

The accommodations are first-class, the Double Tree in Bay City.