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 | | Jon Millerhagen, MESPA President |
September 2009 --
from MESPA President Jon Millerhagen
“On My Honor, I will do my best, to do my duty to…” The Oath of the Boy Scouts of America
Greetings to my fellow members of the Minnesota Elementary School Principals’ Association. It is with great pleasure that I follow in the footsteps of Dick Oscarson and Pat Murray, the most recent presidents of our association. Their work in the design of our strategic plan and leading the association has helped MESPA become the premier resource for serving principals throughout the state.
Dick has kept us focused on how we can best help principals meet the challenges of our work through improved professional development and stronger connections with our Legislature. I will look to him for wisdom and guidance as I serve my term as president. We welcome Kris Stueve as our new president-elect, and Tim Bell as our new secretary/treasurer taking over for the good work done by Pat Pribyl. I have complete confidence that our new executive leadership team will be responsive to your challenges as principals.
Most of my July was spent doing Scouting activities with my son in the Bighorn Mountains and the Boundary Waters Canoe Area. I took some important lessons from these experiences that interestingly relate to my work as a principal. The Boy Scout Motto is to “Be Prepared “ and the Scout Slogan is “ Do a Good Turn Daily.” We trained, packed, and repacked our gear several times in order to be certain that our trips would be successful.
“Be Prepared.” As you begin your school year and assess your need to “sharpen the saw,” please note the many opportunities that MESPA offers its members. Throughout the school year you will benefit from taking advantage of resources from MESPA business partners and of our many MESPA professional development opportunities: Legal Issues seminars, Own Your Data seminars, Three Minute Walkthrough seminar, the Breakthrough Coach seminar, New Principal seminar, Emerging Leaders Conference, and Institute!
In “Doing a Good Turn Daily,” I encourage you to connect with your area and district colleagues to offer ways to help increase attendance and participation in the good work of the association at the division level. Our division presidents, presidents-elect, and committee representatives, take their responsibilities seriously and strive to communicate important information to each of you that will help improve the quality of your experience as principals. Please look for ways to help support and honor their time and effort in serving you.
The second part of the Scout Oath calls scouts to “ Help Other People at All Times.” For those of you experienced principals who have enjoyed great success in your careers, I call upon you to adopt a younger member who will benefit from your wisdom and skills. Make it a personal commitment that you will do everything in your power to help him or her succeed as a principal.
Above our Washburn Elementary office door we have written, “Make Your Good Better and Better Your Best!” Your school communities hold you to an implied expectation that you will do your best in serving their children and families. The Minnesota Elementary School Principals’ Association is here to help and support you in fulfilling their expectations. Take advantage of us and always know that the MESPA staff, Fred, Roger, and the executive board are here for you.
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