By Felix Hoover

For YourNewsColumbus

 

The focus was on fatherhood and financial fitness Friday at Columbus State Community College.

 

Audience members and speakers took part in a symposium on fiscal fitness and other topics at one of the stops on State Treasurer Kevin L. Boyce's Smart Money Choices Tour. The event was dubbed "Men Behaving Dadly."

"Our No. 1 priority at the Ohio Treasury is the financial security of Ohio families," Boyce said. "Recognizing that our current economic climate has led to higher unemployment rates, my hope is that this conference will provide fathers with the necessary financial tools to provide for their families during these difficult financial times."

He set the tone by talking about his own experiences as a father and as the son of a single mom.

"Fatherhood to me is something sacred because of my own situation; I work to get better every day," Boyce said.

He considers himself fortunate because he had a grandmother who filled some of the void when he was a child, but said he realizes there might not always be such a capable grandmother to help every family.

The symposium, part of a 13-city tour around the state, included two plenary sessions and a number of breakout sessions with input from audience members as well as speakers.

One of the few women in the dialog drew applause from the gathering for identifying herself as an ex-offender and for seeking help on how to get one of her sons out of the criminal cycle.

Some anti-recidivism advocates refer to people ex-offenders as "restored citizens" in an attempt to fight the stigma that comes with incarceration.

In a larger sense, finding ways to promote positive images of fatherhood is one of the challenges identified by several participants.

That was one of the concerns of some of the lunchtime speakers, former NFL player Shawn Harper, fellow motivational speaker Javier Sanchez and Elder Michael Reeve Sr., pastor of Corinthian Missionary Baptist Church.

Harper drew comparisons between missed assignments that adversely affect teammates on the football field and what happens at home when fathers are absent.

"That's the same thing when a father gets out of position, everybody suffers," he said.

Child support, debt management, insurance and education on money matters were among topics addressed in the talks and by vendors who set up outside the conference room.

Lawrence Funderburke, who starred in basketball at Ohio State University and in the NBA, promotes financial literacy through the Lawrence Funderburke Youth Initiative. Like Boyce, he also grew up in a low-income, single-parent household. He also had lucrative contracts when he played pro ball.

Life on both ends of the monetary spectrum led to the same conclusion: "You need to have some financial sense whether you have nothing or a lot."