In this day and age, a personal letter from someone seems to be a rarity. Not so though with my friend and former neighbor, Sally Howard.

Sally has a hobby of collecting autographs from “Potentially Famous People” and has done it for years, knowing that one day one of these autographs will pay off, whether in notoriety or value. She has hundreds of them filed away in order.

Just recently, Sally told me a story about an unusual experience she had and how it turned out. This is her story:

Sally attended the Michigan State Diving Championship meet in March of this year being her grandson, Cameron, a sophomore, was diving for Grandville High School. She said, “While I was attending, I got the chance of a lifetime to experience the true meaning of what it takes to be outstanding in performance and character. Sally is referring to Will Brenner who is a senior at Huron High School in Ann Arbor, MI.

KENT COUNTY, Mich.-- The search for Kent Intermediate School District's next leader is over.

Grandville Superintendent Ron Caniff will replace Kevin Konarska, who is retiring.  Caniff was the lone finalist left after West Ottawa Superintendent Tom Martin withdrew his application for the job.  Caniff's final interview with the Kent ISD Board was held Tuesday.

“The Board is thrilled to welcome Ron Caniff as the next leader of Kent ISD,” said Kent ISD School Board President Claudia Bajema. “He brings 15 years of experience and the strong support of his peers.

“We are confident that the transition from Kevin to Ron will be very smooth, and that Ron will lead with the talent, energy, and interpersonal skills that we have enjoyed for the past nine years under Kevin’s leadership. We also wish Kevin all the best in the next phase of his life,” she added.

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich.-- As part of March is Reading Month, the leaders of WMU-Cooley Law School’s Children’s Law Society took time recently to read to three Sibley Elementary School kindergarten classes in Grand Rapids.

Besides reading to the children, WMU-Cooley students Demar L. Sheffey and Anthony Courtney gave each child their own book to take home, along with a notebook and pencil to practice their writing.

Sheffey recently helped revive the Children’s Law Society at WMU-Cooley because he was angry about the state of literacy in Grand Rapids public schools. He remembered when he couldn’t move to the fourth grade because his reading skills needed improvement. Like his third grade teacher who helped him, Sheffey wanted to help current school children.

“No one gave me a book at that age,” Sheffey said. “But if I take the time to show these kids that reading is fun and help provide the tools they need to learn, then hopefully they will keep up in school.”