If a person's happiness is defined by their family, then I would have to say I am a very happy man.

I have been blessed to be married for 29 years to Susan, who I met at Alma College. We have three remarkable children. Sara, who is a Junior at Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah, is married to a wondeful young man. She and Austin are expecting their first child in June. Lisa is a sophomore and Kyle is an 8th grader. Fortunately, they have all of their mother's positive traits--which, in this dad's eyes, makes them pretty great kids!

This is my 30th year in education. I was an elementary teacher in St. Louis and Midland, Michigan. I loved being in the classroom and miss it to this day. I became an elementary principal at Glen Lake in January of 1991 with the hopes I could influence, in a positive and productive way, an entire elementary staff and student body. That was a great experience. I count my days at Glen Lake as some of the most special in my career. After 6.5 years, I was given the opportunity to serve as Superintendent of the Littlefield Public Schools located in Alanson, Michigan, just north of Petoskey. We had a great deal of success there because of the commitment of the community towards education. Then, in June of 2000, I came home, literally, to Elk Rapids to serve the community and schools I grew up in. I cannot imagine a Superintendent loving his/her school district and community more than I love mine. As a 1973 graduate of ERHS, it has been a privilege to work with the finest staff and one of the most talented student bodies in northern Michigan.

Go Elks!