Brief personal background, education, career, bio: 

I have resided in the Pelican Rapids school district since 2003. My wife Jackie and I have two children, both of which are current students in the Pelican Rapids school district. I practiced law in the area for 18 years and am now employed by Lake Region Electric Cooperative.

Please explain your motivation for seeking the Pelican Rapids School Board seat. 

I am interested in another school board term because I enjoy being engaged in the decision-making process and interacting with district staff members and the public regarding matters that impact and affect the futures of our students.

What do you see as the opportunities and challenges in the Pelican district? 

The opportunities I see in the school district are endless based on the great leadership provided by our district’s staff and supportive community. I look at any challenge simply as another opportunity—an opportunity to overcome an obstacle or solve a problem.

 In your view, what has the district done well in recent years? 

I think our school district has done a good job of supporting its decisions with specific findings that have led to clear conclusions.

What has the district done that you would change or improve upon?

My hope is that we all want to continue to develop and improve our school district, whether individually or collectively. From my perspective as a current board member, I know that I can improve serving our district by reaching out more to the members of our district, whether by connecting with our district’s township boards and city councils and requesting to be placed on their agendas to provide an update on school district related matters, or simply personally inviting members of our district to school board meetings. It would be great to see a lot of our district’s members at school board meetings!