Quiet settled across the pews at the Downtown Church in Springfield, MO, on Sunday, Nov. 3. Good Dads guests—including parents, partners, friends and children—turned to face the back of the sanctuary as the first notes of Pomp and Circumstance, the Graduation March, played over the church’s speakers. For many, it was a day they’d long been waiting for.
This powerful moment was the first of many at the New Pathways for Good Dads graduation event this weekend, hosted by the leading Missouri nonprofit focused on encouraging fatherhood engagement throughout the state. Sunday’s graduation celebrated the outstanding achievements of more than two dozen fathers who worked tirelessly to complete the rigorous program requirements of New Pathways for Good Dads.
Twenty-seven fathers dressed in crisp suits, dress shoes and neckties walked up the center aisle with all eyes on them. Children waved gleefully to their fathers. Some guests held their phone cameras high, snapping pictures. Others surreptitiously wiped wet eyes with tissues. And for some graduates, this was their first major recognition of their hard work.
To be eligible for graduation from the program, fathers must:
- Complete Good Dads 2.0, the nonprofit’s flagship course covering a variety of fatherhood skills (16 weeks)
- Complete Within My Reach, the leading healthy relationships course for individuals who may or may not be in a committed romantic relationship (8 weeks)
- Be employed (exceptions made for retirees and disability recipients)
- And be contributing to the wellbeing of their children, including making regular payments to open child support cases.
“No one was able to pick up the book of how to be a perfect dad,” said Will Cox, a Good Dads board member and the graduation’s Master of Ceremonies. “We are all still trying to figure it out.”
Dr. Jennifer L. Baker, Good Dads’ founder and director, said that realizing the tremendous impact fathers have on their loved ones is a little like finishing a jigsaw puzzle.
“We don’t understand (when we only look at a finished puzzle) … is all the time and energy and attention to make all those pieces come together to make a big, beautiful picture. What most people don’t see is how it felt at the beginning, when there were all those pieces all over the table.
“At the beginning, before much of the picture ever begins to form, we may feel like a tiny piece of something, but we’re not sure what … We wondered if it would ever make any sense. We question if we’re in the right place or we just got mixed up in the wrong box. We doubt that our little piece could ever become anything beautiful and meaningful.”
She compared the beginnings of the nonprofit, nine years ago, to what it was like for fathers enrolling in the program and joining their very first Good Dads class.
Little by little, after developing connections, encouraging others, demonstrating what it means to be a good dad, and having hope, the puzzle pieces begin to form into something amazing.
“As the different pieces of your life came together, a new picture started to emerge,” she said. “You started getting excited about the possibilities that you were seeing for yourself and the guys in your group and your families.”
Good Dads wishes to thank the following individuals and organizations, without whom our programs could not succeed:
- New Pathways for Good Dads participants, whose outstanding achievements we were honored to celebrate. Thank you for your commitment to being a Good Dad.
- Hard-working facilitators and case managers who help the program succeed.
- Good Dads’ class location partners.
- Members of the New Pathways for Good Dads Council.
- Good Dads Board of Directors members.
- Brian Mattson and the staff at the Downtown Church.
- JD Pate and his jazz band.
- Daylon Tillman, the dedicated Missouri child support specialist who has worked with fathers in our program to help them achieve their goals.
- Friends and family of New Pathways Dads.
During the ceremony, it became clear that dads make a difference in so many areas of life. Dads improve outcomes for their children. Communities are safer places to live. Students do better in school. The economy is healthier. Relationships flourish.
“You are a critical piece of that puzzle; you absolutely are,” Dr. Baker told the graduates. “Without you, there’s a void. There’s an emptiness. There’s an incomplete picture.”
Congratulations to the 2024 Southwest Missouri New Pathways for Good Dads Graduates:
- Phillip Applegate
- Benjamin Benton
- Kevin Cole, Jr
- Kevin Cook
- Matthew Cook
- Jose Fraire
- Jayson Grimes
- Reed Harms
- Willie Hodges
- Austin Hosmer
- Dalton Hubble
- Matthew Johnson
- Victor Johnson
- Shane Jones
- Bryson Kitchens
- Ross Kula
- Jamie Lisenby
- Bryan Love
- Paul Melvin
- Daniel Shea
- Brent Skinner
- Timothy Stracener
- Bryan Swaffar
- Willie Thomas
- Cody Viether
- Dustin Weatherman
- Aymeric Winchester
At the conclusion of the ceremony, The Downtown Church’s pastor Brian Mattson played a cover of Tom Petty’s “Learning to Fly” on his acoustic guitar. Guests sang along (and again—dried their eyes with tissues).
Graduates and guests met in the church’s Fellowship Hall at the conclusion of the ceremony to enjoy cake, punch and big hugs.
