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Close to a hundred fathers; many of whom took off from work from 8 to 10 a.m. Tuesday morning, attended Thurgood Marshall Elementary’s inaugural Bring Your Dad To School Day.

Among them was Major Mason who said he would be going in late to his job at the Morganville School District.

“This was empowering,” Mason said of the over 2-hour-long program.

And when asked what her father represents in her life during the father child post event breakfast, 9-year-old Maris simply said, “Everything.”

The sentiment and importance of a father’s active role in a child’s life was not lost on any of those who attended or who spoke at the event.

“You’re talking about fathers getting together and fathers engaged in the educational process,” Asbury Park Superintendent Lamont Repollet said. “Today was just an example of us ‘building a brighter future,’ not just for our students but for our community.”

Repollet was joined by fellow guest speakers Vice Principal Gavin McGrath, Dr. RaShawn M Adams, The Cazzeek Brothers, and Triumphant Life Pastor Lyddale Akins.

The brainchild of Principal Thea Jackson-Byers, the event featured a father’s only testimonial, words of inspiration and reflection session before opening up to a student-father breakfast. The event was aimed at spotlighting why a father’s role is paramount in a child’s life, she said.

“Nearly one-fourth of America’s children are living in mother only families,” she told the men. “No matter how great a mother is, she cannot replace what you all do.”

Adams, the district’s Director of Planning, Research and Assessment shared his struggles and realities as a youth growing up with a father incarcerated on heroin charges and today’s realities of being a single parent of a 13-year-old.

“Who I am is still that little kid that sits in the window waiting for his father to come when he said he was going to come but never did,” Adams said. “I am still that little kid that worked hard in school to prove that I was worthy of you coming and being present in my life.”

Members of the City’s Cazzeek Brothers, which formed as a grassroots, all-male networking organization in the early 1980s as a way to further positive change in the community, spoke about the importance of just simply showing up and being present.

“We help out by our community-based efforts,” Hakeem Young said. Those efforts include an array of activities, support initiatives, and an annual retreat. “We work 24/7. If you need help with your son, your daughter or yourself, hit us up.”

Akins said although he grew up without a father, he has made many attempts to connect with him.

“I was never really angry, after I became a father,” he said. “It’s hard being a father, so I never said anything to him. The point is opposition and struggle always develops you. Every man is going through something. It is the struggle that develops us, it is the struggle that makes us. If you are going through something, you are great. Greatness is developed through adversity and trial.”

Also in attendance were Board of Education President Angela Ahbez Anderson who shared her personal reflections of a father being present in a child’s life.

In the end Troy Jones said, who held his toddler-aged daughter in his arms said it was important for him to be there for his son Jayzhon and his schoolmates.

“It’s important that we are here to support our youth,” he said.

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