On Thursday, June 15, just days before Father's Day, three men were honored at the 76th Annual "Father Of The Year Awards" ceremony at the New York Hilton Midtown Hotel. The National Father's Day Committee selected the men, and after the luncheon, awards were presented to Michael Strahan, Marvin Ellison, and Gary Aurin.
Father's Day Committee
The National Father's Day Committee is part of the Father's Day/Mother's Day Council. It was established 74 years ago to select men worthy of being honored as "Father of the Year." The selection is based on those who have demonstrated leadership and fatherly characteristics in the community.
The funds raised are to support issues affecting men, fathers and their families. The main objective of the program is to pay tribute to men who have shown exceptional qualities during the previous year. The awards ceremony usually comes on a day close to Father's Day.
"Save the Children" is the organization that is the beneficiary of the funds raised. The money is to ensure that children will have the resources they need.
2017 honorees
Michael Strahan is a co-host of ABC’s “Good Morning America.” The 45-year-old television personality is a two-time Emmy winner and Super Bowl Champion who played for the New York Giants. He works as an analyst for “Fox NFL Sunday.” Strahan also hosts ABC's “$100,000 Pyramid” that is produced by his own company, SMAC Entertainment.
He has four children, including a set of 13-year-old twin girls, Sophia and Isabella.
Marvin Ellison is the Chairman & CEO of J.C. Penney. He is a veteran retail executive with more than 30 years of experience. He has made significant improvements at Penney since he has been there. Ellison was one of only five African-American CEOs on the 2016 Fortune 500 list.
The 51-year-old CEO has a son and a daughter.
Gary Aurin received the 2017 Ashok C. Sani “All-Star” Dad award. He is the father of 12-year-old twin boys, Brett and Kyle. Brett wrote an essay nominating his father. Aurin was chosen out of approximately 200 nominations, according to officials. Brett indicated in his essay that his father works hard taking care of him and his brother who has autism even though his father is in remission from cancer.
Brett introduced his father just before he accepted the award.
It is interesting that two of the three recipients have twins. However, that is not a requirement for receiving an award.
There were four honorees last year, including Vice President Joe Biden, Joe Namath, Jerry Storch, and "All Star Dad" Christopher Irving. Let's see who will be honored next year.
