The 82nd Annual MEMSPA State Conference took place at the beautiful Grand Traverse Resort in Traverse City. MEMSPA members, retirees, and non-members had a chance to engage in valuable professional development, network with colleagues old and new, and relax a bit.

This year’s conference, with the theme, “The Whole Child: Rigor, Relevance & Relationships,” provided sessions that touched on every area of school life.

This year we had Alan Blankstein, author of Failure Is Not an Option, to kick off our conference. Dayle Hayes, award-winning author, educator and nutrition coach, brought us our second general session on Thursday. Closing this year’s conference on Friday was Bill Cecil, Michigan’s 2003-04 Teacher of the Year and author of Best Year Ever! – Winning Strategies to Thrive in Today’s Classroom.

These dynamic sessions and many outstanding breakout sessions provided an exciting learning event for you. Couple all of these wonderful educational opportunities with two planned parties, the vendor exhibit, and the all-too-important chance to network with friends old and new, we had an amazing professional development opportunity for principals in the State of Michigan.

MEMSPA honored Dr. Stephen Anderson as the Outstanding Practicing Principal for 2007.  Dr. Anderson is the Principal at Amerman Elementary in Northville.  In addition to the OPP, each region selected a member for their Region Honors.  See the MEMSPA Honors article in the newsletter to see a complete list of recipients.