By Mike Davisson, Executive Director/Olathe Regional Director for Father’s Club

The Mechanical Contractors Association of Kansas City (MCAKC) represents the most competent, professional, safety-conscious, and cutting-edge mechanical contractors in the nation. Their member firms combine the best project management talent in the industry with the highly skilled and trained workforce of the United Association Plumbers & Gasfitters Local 8 & Pipe Fitters Local 533.

Each year, MCAKC selects a Kansas City Area nonprofit to be the sole beneficiary of funds raised from its annual charity golf outing.

Past organizations include:

Giving the Basics, Fight Dirty Foundation, Care Beyond the Boulevard, BoysGrow, Kansas City Free Eye Clinic, Kansas City Rescue Mission, Variety Kansas City, Farmer’s House of Weston, Community Assistance Council, Operation Breakthrough, Down Syndrome of Greater Kansas City, Lake Mary Center, Children’s Center for the Visually Blind, ALS Association of Kansas City, Children’s Mercy Hospital, and Susan G. Komen Foundation of Kansas City.

Since 2007, they’ve raised about $450,000 for area nonprofits.

The Background

After their annual tournament in 2023, I was made aware of MCAKC and their philanthropic efforts by Chris McCall, Olathe East HS Father’s Club dad. Chris was an Associate Member who had played in the tournament on multiple occasions in the past and felt there would be a great partnership opportunity for Father’s Club.

I reached out via email to the Executive Director, Stacy Zerr and Deputy Executive Director, Jacki Conn, to ask for the opportunity to share more about Father’s Club and inquire as to what it would take to be considered as a future beneficiary of the annual golf tournament fundraiser. Conversations began in May of 2024 with questions about Father’s Club and our needs for future funds. With a MCAKC workforce consisting of about 90% men, Father’s Club was a logical option for consideration.

Father’s Club focuses on DAD involvement and Mental Wellness training. These were key contributors to being selected as this year’s beneficiary. I shared a little about Father’s Club and our journey at the MCAKC Annual Board Meeting in August and then was able to be a part of the golf event on October 14^th at Canyon Farms Golf Club in Lenexa, KS.

The Golf Tournament

I knew it was going to be a special day when I heard the tournament sold out in the first 4 days of open registration. I had no idea that it would be run so efficiently, effectively and flawlessly as it was from the moment you drove into the parking lot until after dinner; awards and raffle items were handed out.

Randy Bratton, Mission Cup Coordinator, commented that we now know what Best in Class looks like and what we can aspire to have our golf tournaments look like in the future. Everything was first class from check-in to raffle prizes to the golf tournament and hole contests. It was an absolute joy to be at the Par 3 Hole-in-One Contest and to have Father’s Club leadership interacting with so many quality business owners and workers, vendors and MCAKC members and associates.

The Big Check

On November 13, 2024, MCAKC presented Father’s Club with a check for $61,145.00. This was the largest amount raised at any single golf tournament event to date and helped MCAKC exceed the $500,000 threshold in charitable giving to local nonprofits in just 18 years. Think about that for a moment – Half of a Million dollars raised and donated to local nonprofits in less than 18 years!

Father’s Club was a fantastic charity partner to work with this year and we look forward to our continued work together, especially with mental health. – MCAKC

Congratulations to MCAKC and your wonderful organization for all that you are doing to support local nonprofits. Thank you to Stacy Zerr, Jacki Conn, Jamie Mikelson, Kathleen Livingston and everyone else that made this tournament so successful. Thank you to the Board of Directors and all those involved in choosing Father’s Club to be this year’s charitable recipient.

We are beyond humbled by your generosity and partnership and look forward to furthering our relationship in the future as it relates to our Mental Health & Wellness efforts and creating simple, intentional ways for MCAKC members and associates to be involved in the lives of their KIDS, other DADS and the COMMUNITY with love, humility and resolve.

By Joshua McDonald, Ray-Pec Schools Regional Chair for Father’s Club

It was time for Fist Bump Friday! DADS were able to come face-to-face with almost 3,500 students at four Ray-Pec schools in a 40-minute timeframe! DADS were present at two middle schools, the ninth-grade center, and the high school. As I leaned into a mom’s car window in the morning drop-off line at one of the middle schools, I was reminded why we are doing this. I was encouraged that the effort and work to develop and build something new was worth it. I was reminded that our kids NEED this. Our families need this. Our community needs this.

Launching a new region of Father’s Club is not an easy task.

This is especially true when operated exclusively by volunteer DADS. We are pulled in many directions and can, at times, seem to have an overwhelming number of commitments and responsibilities. It can also be difficult to gauge the impact. However, experiences like this are a great reminder of the impact a small act can have on others.

Our mission that morning was simple. Be present. Pass out dum-dum’s, fist bumps, smiles, and encouraging words as students piled into the schools. During drop-off, a mom pulls up and calls me over to the car. As most parents know, the drop-off line needs to be fast and efficient… Keep It MOVING! (This was NOT one of those times. Sorry parents.) As I lean in, I notice “Mom” is in tears simply due to fathers’ proactive choice to engage and be present. We had a short conversation and explained the mission of Father’s Club quickly before saying our goodbyes and attempting to get the drop-off line back in rhythm.

I had felt a bit defeated over that week regarding dad engagement. How do we engage and recruit DADS without a presence? But, how do we create a presence without DADS?! Fortunately, the inaugural chapter chairs at each of the schools have been steady and consistent and surrounding regions of Father’s Club sent DADS over to partner with Ray-Pec DADS at two of the schools.

A simple forty minutes of presence produced multiple stories of impact on students, administration, and parents. Hopefully ”Mom” left that day encouraged knowing that there are fathers being proactive and present. Students who did not wish to be at school had changed their tune. Administrators and staff were immediately requesting more Fist Bump Fridays. Though the number of DADS at the official launch may have been lower than I had previously anticipated, the impact was not.

40 Ounces of Coffee and 500 Fist Bumps

Hopped up on 40 ounces of coffee and 500 fist bumps, I headed to work more excited than I had ever anticipated. The tough times in the trenches is where the foundation is built that supports the impactful times. Even if it is “just one,” it was worth it. As Father’s Club continues to grow in the Ray-Pec region, we are looking forward to adding co-chairs to assist in carrying the load as well as DADS who can simply be present.

Ray-Pec Father’s Club has begun to schedule additional events and even had the opportunity to run the chains at the South Middle v. East Middle football game. Fist Bump Friday will also take place at each school monthly.

For information on upcoming events, sign up at  fathersclub.org/join

If you would like more information about schools in your area or wish to speak to someone, you can check out the list of chapters and chapter chair contacts at fathersclub.org/chapters

If you wish to directly connect, feel free to reach out to me at jmcdonald@fathersclub.org

By Jim Bradford, Chapter Co-Chair at Mission Trail Middle School for Father’s Club

As Thanksgiving approaches, it always seems to be the time of year when we take stock, reflect and appreciate everything a little bit more.

It happens every year and we can’t get enough of the love. As soon as the leaves start to fall and the temperatures dip into the 40s on a daily basis, we turn our attention to the holidays, family and reflection. When things come to an end – like a year – you can’t help being reflective.

And being reflective, when it comes to Father’s Club, you can’t help but smile. What we’ve done over the course of the past few years in the KC area is nothing short of amazing. And it’s all about those lives we help enrich.

For that, we are thankful. Thankful for so many things and so many people that make the Father’s Club work all across the KC metro area. Not just at the high school level, but at our middle schools, where several of our new Father’s Club chapters are taking root. It’s not easy getting a foothold in those communities – high school and middle school – but with some great, dedicated dads who are tremendous servant leaders, the success stories are plentiful.

Thank you, staff and administration

Where would we be without the willingness of the staff and administrators who let us in the building? Well, outside looking in, that’s where we’d be. Thank you so much to those principals and administrative assistants that welcomed us with open arms. Thank you to the teachers and counselors who help us engage with the students.

Each of you represents the pulse of the building, you know what’s going on. You can help point us in the right direction. If we don’t know which students need a pat on the back, an extra fist bump or an “way to go, we see you,” then we’re just spinning our wheels. We rely on your help more than you know.

Thank you, students

The thousands of students at the high school and middle schools around the metro are the reason we do what we do. Thank you for your willingness to be seen and maybe more importantly, for your willingness to listen to bad dad jokes and even occasionally act like one or two of them are actually funny.

Getting the opportunity to interact with you makes our hearts sore. Catching a half a smile or a chuckle here or there is music to our ears. If we can reach just one of you at a Fist Bump Friday, it’s more than made our efforts worth it.

Thank you for being you. We know these teen years are tough. Trust us, we’ve been there. We’re just thrilled you’ve allowed us in to be a part of the chaos that is high school and middle school.

Thank you, dads

Last, but certainly not least. The chapter chairs may the tone, but it’s the hundreds and hundreds of dads that step up every day who do the heavy lifting.

There’s always something that comes up and there’s always a dad there to answer the bell. We may not ask a lot of you and you may shrug it off as no big deal, but certainly is to us. Time is one of our most precious commodities and don’t take that for granted.

What else can we say? To all of you? Thank you, thank you, thank you. We don’t say it enough and shouldn’t have to wait until the end of November to say it, either.

Thanks to everyone who allows us to do what we do.

• To get involved with a Father’s Club chapter at your school, visit the Chapters page on our website.
• If there isn’t a chapter currently at your school and you would like to know more about starting a Father’s Club chapter, visit the Contact page and fill out the form with your details and we will be in touch.

By Dan Holdhusen, Grandfather of three graduates and one currently enrolled in Blue Valley High School

As announced in previously, Father’s Club is proud to announce the election of two dads to its Board of Directors. The previous blog highlighted Dave Strickland, and this one will feature Jon Ogren. Jon and Dave both began serving their terms earlier this summer.

Brief Bio

Jon is a graduate of Colorado State University and began working after college for a financial advisory firm in Denver. While there, Jon met he wife, Gina, who happened to work with the same firm. They moved to Overland Park 25 years ago and have enjoyed living the majority of their married lives in Kansas. Jon and Gina have two children: Austin (a KU graduate who works for Honeywell), and a daughter, Alex, who is currently studying marketing at KU. Both Austin and Alex attended their pre-college scholastic years at Aubry Bend Middle School and Blue Valley Southwest High School.

Why Become Involved with Father’s Club?

Jon’s response to this question is succinct: “America is amazing but becoming less amazing every year. Nearly all could have been and would be impacted positively if we had good dads.” He adds that the civil unrest and looting from a couple of years ago began an ugly cycle that has continued.

“Leadership from dads and the home is critical. Being a dad is not cool, having kids is.” The final punctuation he offers in responding to the ‘why become involved’ question is: “The grassroot level for me is hanging out with other dads and mentors and standing up to today’s world!”

Jon’s involvement with Father’s Club started modestly during the years his kids were in middle and high school, but he could clearly see the advantage and positive impact his involvement had on Austin and Alex – but also on him personally.

Entering a new “season” of life

Now that his kids have graduated and moved on to the next phases of their lives, and Gina’s business is thriving, you would think a dad like Jon might rest on his laurels and build on his past successes and existing business relationships without other distractions. In fact, he is at a time in his professional life that he has been intentional on gaining some margin to expand his involvement in great causes like the Father’s Club.

He explains that he has been blessed with a gift of knowing how to “grow things” or being a catalyst for change, so he is anxious to apply the skills with which he has been blessed and assist Father’s Club to expand its footprint with sustained growth. Instead of becoming complacent and focusing solely on his family and work, he wants to, in his words, “help improve Fatherdom” by volunteering to make a difference in expanding and strengthening the Father’s Club and its mission.

That is one of the reasons that makes Jon an exceptional addition to the Father’s Club Board of Directors.

What specifically would you aspire to do to advance the Mission?

Given Jon’s gifts and training, he would like to assist with building programs to help develop leaders, which is so incredibility important in the bedrock and success of organizations like Father’s Club. With it comes the awesome responsibility of fostering, developing, and nurturing new and existing leaders, and growing leaders at the Regional and Chapter levels and teaching all how to lead with a purpose, and with integrity. Things that do not always come automatically in dads.

An idea Jon plans to espouse is to recruit “veteran” Father’s Club dad/leaders whose kids have completed their secondary education and lend their experience to mentor upcoming dads for leadership. What better resources and talent could be better?!

How does Jon have fun?

On the surface, Jon is amiable and humble. But another Jon lurks inside.

He says that – even in his mid-50s – he loves dressing up and being silly on Halloween. Some of his past costumes include Gene Simmons, Frankenstein, and the Wicked Witch of the West. For this year’s event, he will appear as Hagrid from the Harry Potter series.

No matter the costume, Jon lives life to the fullest, and the Father’s Club is truly fortunate that he has stepped up and offered his “dad” character and talents to serve on the national Board of Directors. This, of course, can also be said about the addition of Dave Strickland to the Board. Both  of these leaders will offer insight and intelligence as they serve, which has been built on years of both being exceptional fathers.

By Dan Holdhusen, Grandfather of three graduates and one currently enrolled in Blue Valley High School

The Father’s Club is proud to announce the addition of two outstanding men and dads to its Board. David Strickland and Jon Ogren, two community leaders, each with two children who have graduated from high schools in the Father’s Club footprint, were recently elected to the Board of Directors. These men will each bring to Board experiences and unique expertise that will complement the gifts already possessed by members of the Board, but also add fresh perspectives and ideas that will help to not only solidify the programmatic footprint of the Father’s Club, but also propel the organization in new and exciting directions.

There is so much to share about these two gentlemen, so we decided to break this into a 2-part series! This particular blog will highlight and focus on David Strickland.

Part 1: David Strickland
Part 2: Jon Ogren (coming soon!)

David Strickland – Brief Bio

David came to the south Kansas City area 10 years ago after his life and professional opportunities had him living and working in such places as Wisconsin, Alaska and, more recently, South Carolina.

David serves as the Chief Operating Officer of Kenton Brothers Security and he and his wife, Tammy have two children, Anna (20) and Jason (18), both of whom attended middle school and high school in the Blue Valley District. Both graduated from Aubry Bend Middle School and Blue Valley Southwest High School. Tammy works for the Blue Valley School District, while both of their children attend the University of Kansas.

Why Become Involved with Father’s Club?

When asked about what motivated David to become involved with the Father’s Club, he traces one reason back to a particular event that occurred when the best friend of his son, Jason, was killed in a tragic accident at the Schlitterbahn Waterpark in 2016. The shock and sadness of the event brought David to the realization that kids and their families can have dramatic, life-long mental health impacts, and this incented him to become involved with the Blue Valley Southwest High School’s Father’s Club chapter at its inception in 2018. He thought that he could offer as a father – with unique perspectives and insights, and, simply, “showing up” – real support for kids.

After attending a weight room meeting, he felt called to action and began active participation in the activities of his kid’s school activities.

Taking a Time Out

As time progressed, and the COVID pandemic changed the lives of everyone, Dave realized that kids did not have the ability and skills to cope with isolation and depression. Incidents of teen suicide, sadly, became more common during these years, and he found it important to focus his attention on his own son, who was struggling with issues of his own.

Dave testifies that not having grown up with a dad of his own being present, he was learning ways – many of them through Father’s Club training and learning from other dads – that he could make a difference in his son’s life. He is happy to report that looking back on those years, he saw the importance of getting in the trenches with other fathers meant a great deal to him, and he is proud to say that his son got through that dark chapter stronger than ever.

He expressed his enthusiasm of being back in action as a Board Member and thinks he can offer support in applying his talents and skills in a variety of organizational ways to help the Father’s Club mature and grow to strengthen the great mission statement around which its activities focus.

A Unique Talent

A surprising thing that people would not necessarily know about Dave is that he has been a professional photographer for 25 years and has owned several studios in his lifetime. He is a published author and has had photos published in national magazines like Sports Illustrated. David continues to lend his photographic skills to sporting and other events in his life.

Why Get Involved with Father’s Club?

When asked this question, Dave’s answer is direct and succinct: “Dads need to look for opportunities to serve. It is important to stress that dads need to participate. Value your children.”

In announcing the nomination and election of both David Strickland and Jon Ogren to the Board of Directors, President Brad Holdhusen commented, “we couldn’t be more pleased to add two superb gentlemen to our Father’s Club Board. Each is an outstanding individual in his own right and will offer expertise that complements the talents and backgrounds of others already serving.”

Thank you to Dave and his commitment in helping Father’s Club continue making an impact in the lives of children.