By Julie Omer, MBA, CPA, CFO, MSBO Board President, Chief Financial Officer, Owosso Public Schools
Unlike Paul Revere, MSBO has not needed to use a horse to go through the streets to make sure that all of you are aware that the conference is upon us. The MSBO staff has done an OUTSTANDING job of creating a jam-packed conference filled with great professional development opportunities and a vendor show with products and services that benefit the abundance of programs and services that schools provide to their school and community. In addition, for those new and seasoned to the conference, there is ample opportunity to gain experience about the “ins” and “outs” of the conference through the “Attendee Orientation” by viewing the video or perusing the PowerPoint. But wait, there’s more, look for the people with the “Ask Me” button if you are in need of help while you are at the conference as well as the always helpful MSBO staff that will have their traditional shirts identifying them as such. These additional touches that the MSBO staff have created were designed to “make a difference” by making the MSBO conference the best experience possible for you and your school community.
For those of you lucky enough to be able to attend, please make sure that you take advantage of all that the conference has to offer while thinking about how what you learn and see the connections that you make can benefit your school community at home to “make a difference.” I challenge you to try to think about what “touches” you could make to your everyday operations that could make your school community feel valued (and heard) similar to the additions that MSBO has made to the annual conference. I particularly challenge you to consider some of those people in your school community that may not have as large of a voice or representation, go unnoticed or perhaps get noticed only when things go wrong. (More to come on this at the Wednesday luncheon.) This is also an opportunity for you to rejuvenate yourselves by getting away from the daily routine and look at the possibilities to improve yourself personally and professionally, of course, while having a bit of fun!
Whatever you hope to get out of the conference, as long as you plan on putting forth the effort, you will achieve that and more. It’s your opportunity to learn ways to make a difference and save the day, like Paul Revere, without getting saddle sore. (Ignore all of the possible information out there that the story of Paul Revere may not be historically accurate, it’s way more fun that way!) I’m looking forward to an awesome “ride” through the 84th MSBO conference with all of you.
Other Articles in this Newsletter
- BMA = Working Knowledge of School Finance
- Developing and Explaining Your School District’s Budget
- Financial Statement Preparation Workshop
- MSBO 84th Annual Conference: Something for Everyone
- MSBO Business Manager/CPA Workshop
- MSBO Update – David Martell
- Reflections on Board Service – Dena Mayer
- Welcome New Members