In celebration of Father's Day, the National Center for Fathering holds an essay contest every spring in the Kansas City area. This year almost 3,000 kids from all grade levels wrote essays titled "What My Father Means To Me." The winning authors (and runners-up) and their fathers were awarded tickets to the Royal's game last Tuesday and recognized at a pre-game ceremony.
Our Lindsey won FIRST PLACE out of all the second grade entries! We are so proud of her! She is a very talented writer, and put a lot of time and effort into writing this essay:
"When I woke up during a recent snow storm, I saw a black bunny outside. I thought it looked like a daddy bunny going out into the snow to try and find food for his family. That reminded me of my own daddy. If my family was in danger, I know my daddy would go out and try to find help for my family. That gave me a very special feeling. Me and my daddy have always had a very special bond since the day I was born. He teaches me right from wrong and to be respectful and responsible. He loves me and I love him. That's what my daddy means to me."
Our whole family was invited to attend the ceremony where Lindsey was recognized. The event was held in a large tent outside Kauffman Stadium on one of the hottest days of the year so far. We were all fed dinner and dessert where the local NBC meteorologist emceed the event and the CEO of the National Center for Fathering presented the awards.
The winners were all asked to read their essays in front of the audience. Lindsey had been nervous for the past couple weeks, so without us knowing she had memorized her essay. When she was called to the microphone, she confidently recited the essay while speaking slowly and clearly. I was so proud of her! The announcers were very surprised at her memorization and the confidence.
To make the event even more memorable, Ryan was nominated to be the Kansas City Royal's Father of the Year, due to the kind words Lindsey had written about him. After answering questions on a detailed online form, he was interviewed a few times before being told he was one of the top 5 finalists. Such an honor!
There are a lot of pictures from the event, some that I took with my own camera along with some taken by a photographer at the event. I was excited to attend the ceremony, but was not expecting it to be such an emotional event. Many of the children who wrote essays spoke of "father figures" because their own father isn't around, and several of them spoke about the heartache they feel because they don't have a relationship with their father. All five finalists in the Father of the Year contest had bios written about them. These are the words written about Ryan:
"Me and my daddy have always had a special bond, since the day I was born. He teaches me right from wrong and to be respectful and responsible. Those words from 2nd grader, Lindsey Ellefsen, capture the the father-child connection that her dad, Ryan, has worked hard to create. Part of his intentional fathering takes place in weekly Sunday meetings with each of his four children - once a month with each one, in the car or in his study. Ryan and his kids value those regular opportunities to have open dialogue about trials, goals, personal issues and successes, and pray together. His involvement also includes their athletics, volunteering as a Watch D.O.G.S. dad, day-to-day activities at home and school, and helping them grow by teaching values and holding them accountable for their behavior. He believes that one of the most important things he does is love their mom, Ali. Ryan and Ali have been married for 16 years."
Ryan said he felt uncomfortable when they read the bio because he's not perfect at holding the Sunday meetings, and the bio made him sound perfect.
After the award ceremony, we were all lead into the stadium for the Royal's game. Ryan and Lindsey were taken to a different area where they were given a behind-the-scenes tour and got to sit in the press boxes. Then they were taken to the field just before the first pitch to be presented. When their picture appeared on the jumbotron, the rest of us jumped up and cheered as loudly as possible!
The winner of the Father of the Year contest went to another man who works as a public school teacher in an area of Kansas City where 75% of the kids don't have a dad at home. His bio brought tears to my eyes, because he was very deserving of the honor.
This sweet girl's essay began, "I ask myself every day 'what DOES my father mean to me?' I haven't spoken to my dad in about 7 months so answering that question seems more like a challenge. When I lost contact with my dad, my world was crushed." At that point, she began sobbing so hard she had to leave the stage. It broke my heart.
Part of this boys essay says, "Very few 'I love you's', very few handshakes. Very little time spent together, but that's still my father. He spends most of his time at work, so our relationship is mostly through our phones. But even when he is home he spends a lot of time on his own. I wish my dad and I had a stronger relationship. Deep down inside, it hurts." I'm sure his Dad felt uncomfortable while standing with him, but afterward they hugged for quite a while. It was awesome.
These are the five finalists for Father of the Year. I knew right away the man next to Ryan was also LDS because his bio could have come right out of the Proclamation to the Family. He was a neat guy from a nearby Stake. It was so neat how the presenters where very impressed with so many things Ryan and this other LDS man do in their home, because they are qualities taught in the church. It was a great testimony builder for me.
This is the widow of a man named Dan Quisenberry who used to play for the KC Royals. He died from brain cancer when he was only 45 years old, and his wife has kept his memory alive by holding this yearly event where fatherhood is recognized and celebrated.
Brevan was not happy about going to the Royals game. That's an understatement, actually - I had to force him to go. He loves to calculate statistics of any kind, so I gave him the challenge to calculate the batting average of each player when they were up to bat. He filled out numerous papers with digits, and the people seated around him were amazed at his concentration. Maybe he can be hired as the Royal's Statistician someday!
Brynlie wanted her hair done in a cute way, so we googled some hairstyles and I nailed this braid bun. I awarded myself the certificate of Royal's Baseball Hairstylist of the Year! Haha!
Logan wanted a fun hairstyle like the girls, but ribbons were out of the question. We went for a mohawk that didn't stay up with all the running around he did.
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