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Carrollton: Son's heartfelt essay Father of the Year's bonus prize
By ANDREW D. SMITH / Special Contributor to The Dallas Morning News
Allan Herpin eagerly awaits the food from Babe's Chicken Dinner House, tickets to the water slides at NRH2O Family Water Park and the driving lesson from Team Texas NASCAR.
Allan Herpin, Carrollton-Farmers Branch Father of the Year, takes time for his sons Desmond (left), 12, who wrote the nominating essay, and Devin, 8. Mr. Herpin also tutors children who have no fatherly role model.
But of all the prizes Mr. Herpin won as Father of the Year in the Carrollton-Farmers Branch school district, the most precious came from his 12-year-old son, Desmond, who attends Polk Middle School.
In an essay nominating Mr. Herpin for the title, Desmond defied adolescent tradition and shared his feelings, even the mushy ones.
"Squeeze!" Desmond wrote. "When my dad hugs me, it seems like he would never let go. ... When I'm in trouble, he will hold me and tell me, 'It's alright,' in a soft comforting voice."
The Father of the Year contest provided a similar gift to every nominated father, some 1,600 in all.
"Technically, it's a contest, but it's not really about naming a winner. It's about helping families communicate and helping fathers improve," said Lucy Bloom, a spokeswoman for the National Center for Fathering in Kansas City.
The NCF has sponsored Father of the Year contests across the country since 1992.
In that time, more than 700,000 students have written essays about their fathers, essays that have strengthened many families.
"Many dads struggle to understand what their children need, but when they read these essays and get a clear message, many of them do what it takes to meet those needs," Ms. Bloom said. "We have seen these essays convince dads to change their work schedules for their children. In divorced families, there have been dads who moved closer to their children."
If all goes as planned, the Father of the Year contest will also lead local dads to the National Center for Fathering Web site, where they can learn to become better parents. The contest may even boost crowds at NCF's local seminars, which are already popular. A program this year on The Seven Habits of Highly Effective Fathers drew more than 1,200 Dallas-area dads.
Another contest sponsor, Plano's Free Market Foundation, believes the event will improve student-teacher relations.
"Teachers at the district got this amazing insight into 1,600 kids because of this contest," said Jenifer Mathews, director of programs for the organization, which champions economic freedom and traditional family values. "Think of how much that is going to help them understand their students."
Such understanding comes easily to Mr. Herpin, 44, who spends several hours a day with Desmond and his 8-year-old brother, Devin. The devoted Carrollton dad cooks them breakfast. He drives them around town. He coaches baseball and oversees a Cub Scout troop.
"I'm lucky I work from home," said Mr. Herpin, who leads an international software sales team for IBM. "Many dads leave for work before their kids wake up and get home when their kids are ready for bed. I get to spend time with my sons each day."
In addition to working with his own sons, Mr. Herpin also mentors other boys. He tutors McKamy Elementary students struggling to learn the math they need to pass their Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills tests.
"Time spent at McKamy has taught me almost as much about a father's importance as time with my own sons," Mr. Herpin said.
"Every struggling boy I've helped has grown up without a father in the house. But when those boys get a father figure, they just blossom. I've had boys who scored a 50 on the pretest score well into the 80s when they took the real TAKS exam. It just goes to show you how important dads are."
Andrew D. Smith is a Dallas-based freelance writer.
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