PLYMOUTH ? Leading the charge was the theme of the 10th annual Midwest Technology Leaders conference at the Inn at St. John?s on May 14 where Chief Information Officers from around the state gained insight on the innovative and disruptive technologies that will impact IT over the next decade.

MTL Co-Founder Tracy Ann Palmer and Executive Director Rob Palmer, as well as Chairman John Crary, CIO of the American Red Cross, organized this premiere networking event which connects hundreds of the Midwest?s most respected senior IT executives for a full day of networking, speaking engagements, breakout sessions, and strategy sharing.

IT executives gained skills to lead beyond just standard IT innovation. The lunch panel, led by Phil Bertolini, Deputy Executive and CIO of Oakland County, focused on how to integrate philanthropy into a career and many speakers shared the message of the importance of mentorship.

?It?s one thing to sit in your office and bury yourself in a day-to-day work, but the real value and the wins come from reaching out to people across industries who are doing a like function and learn from them,? said Bertolini.

Educator Clint Longenecker, the Stranahan Professor of Leadership and Organizational Excellence in The College of Business and Innovation at The University of Toledo, provided an engaging keynote to help the attendees drive superior results. His ?STOP? method gave structure around how to pause and better evaluate your priorities at the beginning, middle, and end of the day. He backed this method up with details on this valuable process and insight into how everyone can be more effective with their busy schedules.

Presentations throughout the day came from industry leaders in technology. David Behan, the Director of DTMB/CIO, for the State of Michigan shared his personal career journey. Several technology presentations were given throughout the day, including a very interesting case study with Box that enables secure document sharing. There also was an overview of the Internet of Things from Cisco.

During the event, Palmer was awarded the Moving Michigan Forward Award that at future events will become an annual award given to recognize talent that goes above and beyond to find ways to develop true IT leaders. Palmer?s not-for-profit organization, We Build Character, raised more than $800 that will go towards helping strengthen and grow Michigan?s workforce through a mentoring program.

We Build Character supports the Michigan Council for Women in Technology Mentor Program and helps develop leaders to their full potential. Many senior IT leaders from MCWT were there to share the benefits of the organization for all women in any stage in their career as they hope to make Michigan the number one state for women in technology.

The cocktail reception at the end of the day served as a great way to seek out panelists who caught had caught the audiences? attention and share knowledge with like-minded Senior IT leaders.

Associate Editor Nicole Johnson leads MITechNews.Com?s efforts to foster STEM education, as well as provides coverage for her fellow women in computing. If you have a story idea for Nicole, email [email protected] Follow Nicole on Twitter: @tech_nicole