Earlier this month a thought provoking message was delivered to the Opelika Community. Some of those in attendance were:

Mrs. Lawanda Gray, Dr. Camille Floyd, and Dr. Melvin Lowe, III. The luncheon was held at the Opelika Marroitt Grand National.

UnCommon Leadership was the message delivered by Tony Dungy.

Tony Dungy is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of Quiet Strength and the Mentor Leader. He led the Indianapolis Colts to Super Bowl victory in 2007, their first such win for an African American head coach. Dungy established another NFL first by becoming the first head coach to lead his teams to the playoffs for ten consecutive years. He retired from coaching in 2009 and now serves as a studio analyst for NBC's Football Night in America. He and his wife, Lauren are the parents of seven children.

It was an event like none other. The students' presentations to include their Jazz Band and Show Choir were just outstanding. The ambiance was nothing less that professional with ongoing conversations relative to the growth the community has undertaken from having participated in a book reading. Yes, the community was greatly involved with this initiative; the act of being UnCommon.

Leadership as many of us know is many things, but it should never be compromised nor UnCommon. The entitled book: UnCommon steers us in many directions. It discusses Humility and Stewardship, Respect for Authority, Mentoring, Education and Athletics, Careers, Work, and Money, Alcohol and Drug, Being versus Doing, Role Model, Eternal Self-Esteem, Faith, and Significance.

All of these subtopics are appropriately addressed in the book. Each one can help all of us as educators become better stewards of public education. The book is clearly discussing the things that we can do internally and collectively to not be common but uncommon. Our boys and girls in Macon County deserve to have UnCommon experiences K-12. It starts in two places; our hearts and in our leadership practices. Let's meet these challenges together... and with an UnCommon disposition.