For Alfred MacLaren of Portage la Prairie, his role as administrator principal of Lighthouse Christian School and manager for Accelerated Christian Education (ACE) Canada has brought unique opportunities. His work has not only been rewarding locally, but has also taken him across the globe recently for the first time as a speaker for ACE School of Tomorrow. Several years ago, MacLaren was invited by the ACE Group in Australia to address an educational leadership summit in Fiji. He says he spent two days at the convention and describes the experience as “absolutely wonderful.” As a global representative for ACE School of Tomorrow, MacLaren meets annually with colleagues from around the world. Earlier this year, he returned from Drakensberg, South Africa, where he spoke at another summit. Last fall, he also travelled to Athens, Greece, for a similar event, enjoying both the cultural experiences and the chance to share his expertise with international school leaders. What happens at the summits MacLaren says the summits bring together administrative heads of schools from different regions to focus on improving leadership, education, and administration. “There’s workshops, there’s general sessions, and we have a wonderful time meeting and fellowshipping together,” he notes. He adds that ACE School of Tomorrow is dedicated to making these gatherings possible. “ACE School of Tomorrow is committed to providing these leadership summits to assist the schools in providing the best education in their region and for their school that they can.” Looking ahead to Washington, D.C. The next summit will take place in October 2026 in Washington, D.C., coinciding with the 250th anniversary of the United States. Sign up to get the latest local news headlines delivered directly to your inbox every afternoon. Send your news tips, story ideas, pictures, and videos to news@portageonline.com. PortageOnline encourages you to get your news directly from your trusted source by bookmarking this page and downloading the PortageOnline app.