Tracy Barnes Captures the Olympic Spirit

I love the Olympics. I love what it stands for. I love the competition. I love the human interest stories. I love rooting for my country in some obscure sport that I only get to watch once every 4 years. One of those obscure sports is the Biathlon, which combines cross country skiing and shooting proficiency. It is an odd pairing, …

Should Hollywood Honor Woody Allen?

If you’re in high school, there is a good chance that you don’t know who Woody Allen is. To be truthful, I think the percentage is pretty low among people from my generation who could name 3 movies he directed or starred in. I remember him more for his offbeat quotes than for him movies. He’s an awkward looking guy …

Social Studies Teacher Saves Lives – Courage

In case this story got lost in the news, another student brought a gun to school and began shooting fellow students. This time the shooter was a 12-year-old boy. This time the victims were an 11-year-old and a 13-year-old. This time the weapon of choice was a sawed-off shot-gun. This time the town was Roswell, New Mexico and the school …

“Next Man Up”

Yes, this is another sports related story and yes, it is one more story about my alma mater, Michigan State University. However, the lessons are applicable to anyone. Let me explain… Max Bullough is from my hometown of Traverse City, Michigan. He was the senior captain, leading tackler and the heart and soul of the #1 ranked defense in the …

Leadership – Coach Dantonio Inspires

Happy New Year and welcome to our new website and improved blog.  I will be writing a new post each week about a current event related to character and leadership.  Please oblige me this time and allow me to speak about something personal to me. I am a graduate of Michigan State University, which makes me a die-hard Spartan (not …

Atheists Not Allowed To Volunteer at Soup Kitchen

Each year around Thanksgiving I get to thinking that my family and I should volunteer to serve food to the homeless at a local shelter or soup kitchen in town. This would be a good deed that would help others and it would remind us how fortunate we are to have a nice home, family and food on the table. Every year, however, I don’t …

Amazing Act of Kindness

Have you ever been eating in a restaurant and looked over to see a family with loud, out of control kids? How about getting on an airplane and realizing your seat assignment is next to a single parent with young children? I have been in both situations and the first thing that comes to mind is “Why me?”. That was …

Kentucky High Schools Ban Post-Game Handshakes

The Kentucky High School Athletic Association (KHSAA) has banned post-game handshakes between players from opposing high schools. The main reason for this new rule is that 24 fights have broken out in the state of Kentucky following high school athletic contests. The KHSAA warned schools that if the rule is disobeyed, the individual schools will be held responsible for the outcomes. …

High School Football Coach Susupends Players for Lack of Character

Some players were skipping classes, others were getting poor grades, others had a poor attitude and even a few were suspected of cyber bullying a fellow-student at the high school. The coaches at Union High School in Roosevelt, Utah, were displeased with the overall character of the football team. “We felt like everything was going in a direction that we didn’t want our young men …

A Dairy Queen Employee Does the Right Thing – Integrity

Joey Prusak, a 19-year-old Dairy Queen manager, witnessed a blind man drop a $20 bill while standing in line. A woman who was standing behind the man in line picked up the $20 bill and stuck it in her purse. Joey came out from behind the cash register and confronted the woman, “I’m going to ask you politely to return his money.” …