Today is the day, everyone! You sent in your nominations, and we have narrowed it down to the top 8 finalists for our Father of the Year Contest! And let us just say, this was NO easy task. All the dads that you nominated are amazing, and as you vote this week let’s remember that all the dads in our lives are super in some way!
Voting is open now through Tuesday, June 16th at noon. Our winner will be announced on Wednesday, June 17th and will win a prize pack from Stephanie Brigan Photography, Bitybean, Mister Chris music, Skirack and Brio Coffee Works!
And so, without further ado, we present to you the top 8 finalists for the BVTMB Father of the Year Contest (in alphabetical order, to remain unbiased!)
:: Eric ::
Eric is amazing. Everything he does, is for his family. He comes home from work exhausted and still makes time for his kids. He is hard working, loving and devoted.
:: Jeff F. ::
My husband, Jeff, is the father of our 2 amazing children: Sophia, 6 and Jackson, 3. The reasons he undeniably claims the Father of the Year award every single year, to me, are countless. Both of my pregnancies were awful; 9 months of all day morning sickness, twice. Jeff was there every single time, holding my hair, giving me wet cloths and blocking a 3 year old Sophia from the bathroom. I would not have been able to manage without him, as I was unable to care for anyone, including myself. His calm, loving, understanding and compassionate way with our children is present in them both, and anyone knowing our kids will tell you they have big hearts and caring souls. Jeff is my equal partner: we share responsibility of our home and activities, always giving me time to myself when I’m burning out. He is the calm to my crazy and what I want my son to grow up to be; an unconditionally loving husband and father. I know with Jeff’s example, Sophia will marry someone like him, just like I married an amazing man, just like my amazing father.
:: Jeff ::
When my husband and I decided to have a child I knew he would be a great dad. You can never imagine how great someone could actually be until you see them in action though. Its always the little things that I catch him doing with her that make me smile the most. He takes her to the baseball field and drives the tractor around the infield just because she loves it. They have daddy-daughter dates when I have something going on at night. They take walks and they pick flowers together. Hes a baseball coach and a basketball referee- she has her own baseball outfits and her own referee shirt. I may be the one she spends most of her time with during the weekdays but anytime she hears a door open or a bell that reminds her of a doorbell she never fails to say “daddys home!” with a huge smile on her face. Those are the moments I dreamt of when I was pregnant.
:: Jeremy ::
It’s hard to put in words everything that makes Jeremy “Father of the Year,” but I’m going to try. Since the day I met him, Jeremy was always different than anyone I’ve ever met – he put pink and red construction paper hearts with a handwritten note on my door when he asked me to be his girlfriend (no one does that kind of stuff anymore). He’s sweet, kind, understanding, loves his family and friends with every ounce of his being and the hardest worker I know. The moment we found out we were pregnant (after more than 9 months of trying) we both screamed and cried and hugged each other for what seemed like hours. The pregnancy was difficult from the start, being flagged as high-risk for certain issues on the eve of our first wedding anniversary, which was supposed to be a joyous time and even more so with a bouncing baby on the way, and while most dads we knew barely went to one appointment after the initial ultrasound, Jeremy was there by my side for every single appointment, holding my hand, placing his hand on my cheeks, and reassuring me that everything would always be ok, no matter what. Even through the three times per week appointments for the last 8 weeks of pregnancy, he was there. Since he officially became a dad on 12/2/14, he of course has gone above and beyond. Always there, helping with whatever he could. He saved up all of his time off at work and worked extra hours so that he could stay home with Henry and me for the first six weeks. Every day, even after he went back to work, he would wake up in the middle of the night to take care of Henry so that I could continue to recover from my c-section, clean our home every day (laundry too), run errands, all while having a smile on his face and a loving tone in every word he spoke. Every day, he tries to teach our son something new, something that interested him as a child, reading to him, teaching him everything he knows about sports, and more importantly, how to be kind and gentle to everyone and everything. I would love for Jeremy to be officially recognized as “Father of the Year” because there truly is no other man or father like him.
:: Joshua ::
My husband, Josh, deserves to win The Father of the Year because he is the most caring, hardest working dad / husband I know. He works 3rd shift (11pm – 7am), and comes home and watches our 2 1/2 year old son while I am at work 7:30am – 3pm. He barely gets 5 hours of sleep each day. And on top of all of that, he is working towards a college degree in criminal justice. He is doing all he can for himself and our family. I love him so much, and appreciate EVERYTHING he does.
:: Nicolas ::
As a Father, Nic gives both of his sons an excellent role model to look up to. He is an example of what it is to find your niche in this world even if it takes a few wrong turns. After years of schooling he discovered that the career he had worked toward was just not a good fit. He chose to start over in a warehouse position at a local outdoor gear store and through his personal drive worked his way up to an office position. This opened the door for him to gain a position at Burlington International Airport. He put in effort, time and perseverance and eventually moved his way up there, as well! He is currently the Director of Planning and Development. In this position he has had to opportunity to reach out to the community and participate in local charity events. He has shown his family that as long as you are willing to work toward your goals that they are attainable! Perseverance and dedication truly do pay off. Even with all of the extra time he puts into work he always makes sure his sons feel loved and puts his family first. He dedicates himself solely to his family in his off time and encourages his sons to be adventurous and social. We are very proud of him and he is an excellent father and role model!
:: Rick ::
Raising 4 kids on his own, he has always given selflessly and worked hard to be a present, supportive parent. Taking on dual roles as mother and father to me and my siblings, he showed us what it means to be happy and productive and succeed in the face of any challenge.
:: Ryan ::
When I first met my husband, I was a single, widowed mom of a five year old son and three year old daughter. My children knew that their Daddy was in heaven, and they knew they had Mommy on earth. I was working and had just finished college and was running completely on empty. Life was so difficult that looking back on it feels like peering into someone else’s life entirely. I had no idea that a blind date, Ryan, would become my children’s new Daddy. He was in his mid-20s like me, but with no children or previous marriage, and I think he had no idea what he was getting into! When he first met my children, my daughter called out, “Are you going to be our new Daddy?!” and I was terrified that I would lose him right there to the threat of being a step dad. Most people our age were still years away from having children. I was afraid to show him how much of a sacrifice and how much work parenting was, so at first I tried to show him only the joyful, easy parts. Then I got the flu and was completely incapacitated for a week. Then I became frustrated with some issues with my son’s behavior. Then all my boundaries came tumbling down so I could have a chance at what we all needed- for Ryan to become a part of our family. He cooked, he cleaned, worked, came to kindergarten events, taught my son chess, and played whatever games the kids wanted to play. He took care of me so I could enjoy being a mom again. The hardest part was learning to let him help make discipline decisions, but we learned how to do that together too. Tears were shed and the stress of growing into a family together was also difficult to weather at times, but when he asked me to marry him I had absolutely no doubt in my mind not only that I wanted to be his wife, but that he was the only person I could see being a father to my children. We have been married almost a year now, and what were once “my” children are completely and totally our children. They call him Daddy and he has made the term step dad completely obsolete with his total love and dedication to them—they are truly his children. We are expecting a new baby at the end of July and I am so excited to begin the parenting journey again with him, this time stepping into it through infancy together.
PLEASE choose Nicholas Longo. He is an AMAZING father!!!!