Krenzel tells fathers to be involved
WARSAW – Former OSU and NFL quarterback Craig Krenzel was the speaker at the Coshocton County Fatherhood Initiative all county – all pro breakfast event held at River View High School on Saturday morning, March 15. Attendees enjoyed a breakfast prepared by the Coshocton County Career Center culinary students, took part in games in the gymnasium and listened to Krenzel speak on fatherhood.
Krenzel told The Beacon, “To me it’s (being a father) one of the most important things in life. In our society these days people are so self-centered and focused on what they can do and what we can do for ourselves that we’ve neglected the importance of what it really means to be a dad, what it really means to be that example for our children so that they see what a life of service looks like. So they see how you should treat people and how you treat their mother. To me being here this morning is an opportunity to share things that my father taught me and that now I’m trying to pass on to my children. I know that they’re not going to like it at times and that’s just fine with me.”
Event co-chairs William Johnson and Casey Wright shared their thoughts on the event and the Coshocton County Fatherhood Initiative.
Johnson said, “We have a very good crowd here this morning with over 375 tickets pre-sold and several tickets bought this morning. We’ve been doing breakfasts at local schools in the county but we wanted to have a county-wide event. It’s not just about dads; it’s about dads and their families.”
Casey Wright said, “I’m a father myself and I know how important it is to my kids just to spend time with them. We get busy sometimes, and sometimes we get burdened down with bills and work and just life. We all need to be reminded just to spend time with our kids, to be engaged, and that our kids really do look up to us. They get into their teen years and even then teenagers look up to us as dads. I got involved and enjoyed the vision in what we do to encourage dads that they are a vital piece of their kids’ lives.
We encourage dads to be a dad figure to neighbor’s kids that don’t have a dad figure present. Be a mentor, that’s one of the messages we try to send.
We have a lot of help here this morning, we are welcome to others joining and get involved. We meet the second Monday of every month. We’ll find a way for people to get involved. And it’s not just about the guys; we have women involved as well.”
William Johnson said, “We have fatherhood workshops for dads to help dads and educate dads. Our goal is to engage, educate and empower the fathers of our county so they know what it is to truly be a father and to be an involved father. So many times the father can be in the home but still be absent. In our county, 17.7 percent of households are without fathers in the homes. This whole event has come together through a lot of hard work and great support, especially from New Bethel Ministries; they helped get Craig Krenzel here. We also want to thank our many sponsors for this event.”
Door prizes were awarded prior to the event and following his remarks; Krenzel handed out footballs to lucky winners and then posed for photographs and signed autographs. He told fathers to be present in their kids’ lives and to be engaged. Of great importance, he told dads to “Be a father first and a friend second.”
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