There s more to life than just reaching the top. How you get there determines if true fulfillment will await you above the clouds. Michael C. Blackwell blazes the trail to help you traverse, arrive and thrive at your peak. Whether you are beginning your climb or sitting at the head of a boardroom table,Above the Clouds is your guidebook that sets a sure-footed course for mountaintop success. Learn to thrive at work and home using Blackwell's 9 essentials for living. Attain personal satisfaction by living, learning and succeeding at your highest level. Here s to life at the peak!
Dr. Michael C. Blackwell has been president of Baptist Children s Homes of North Carolina since July 1983, turning it into an aggressive, active, growing center for innovation in 21 communities across the state, serving thousands of children and senior adults annually.
He has directed the formulation and implementation of strategic plans, the successful completion of three major capital campaigns, and the creation of public-private partnerships to better serve youth and families.
He is in demand as a motivational speaker and is the author of four previous books: New Millennium Families (2000), A Place for Miracles (2002), UpsideDown Leadership (2003), and Riches Beyond Measure (2004). Journalist Wint Capel wrote a biography on Blackwell entitled Just Call Me Mickey: From Mill Village to Mills Home published in 2006.
Blackwell is a native of Gastonia, NC, a journalism graduate of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, a former newspaper reporter and radio and television news anchor. He is an ordained minister with Master of Divinity, Master of Theology, and Doctor of Ministry degrees. Dr. Blackwell was awarded an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters degree from Campbell University in Buies Creek, NC, in 2003.
Dr. Blackwell leads the largest children s home network in the Southeast. During his 33-year presidency, BCH has expanded services to include weekday education, wilderness camping, a working ranch, and family care as well as ministry to adults with developmental disabilities. In 2009, Dr. Blackwell led BCH to begin a new, non-residential ministry called North Carolina Baptist Aging Ministry. In 2014, Baptist Children s Homes began an orphanage in Guatemala. In 2016, a new ministry to Western Carolina University students in Cullowhee, NC was launched. And in 2017, The Bob and Carolyn Tucker Greater Vision Ministry Center will become a reality.
The Baptist Children s Homes and its affiliated ministries serve more than 22,000 people annually.
