Thursday, December 13, 2007

Group Seeks Outstanding Military Fathers

The National Fatherhood Initiative is looking for a few good military fathers for the 2008 NFI Lockheed Martin Military Fatherhood Award.

“The purpose of the award is to recognize the outstanding efforts of military fathers to stay engaged with their families while meeting the military missions, even through deployments,"said Jim Knotts, Lockheed Martin Corp.’s director of corporate citizenship. “(It) helps bring attention to those sacrifices and celebrates the efforts above and beyond the call of duty to balance military duty with family obligations.”
Though the award is given to the father, he added the National Fatherhood Initiative’s first guideline for being a good father is to respect the children’s mother; therefore, he said, it recognizes the whole family.

Nominations for the 2008 award are being accepted through Jan. 4, Knott said. Any father serving on active duty or in the National Guard or reserves is eligible for the award. He does not have to be deployed. The winner will be announced Feb. 28 and honored at an April 29 gala in Washington.

Nomination information and requirements are available online. Nominations need to include a one- to two-page explanation of how the nominated father meets established contest criteria. Submissions can be made and more information is available from http://www.fatherhood.org/mfa.asp.

Knotts, a father and veteran, also gave a nod to the moms. “It simply would not be possible (to be good military fathers) without the steadfast dedication and support of our military moms,"he added.