On October 22, 2025, the Hampton City Council convened for a ceremonial session dedicated to "Spotlight on Hampton Citizens," focusing specifically on family resilience and the Healthy Families Fatherhood Program. The meeting featured presentations by city officials and representatives of the program, highlighting the contributions of volunteer facilitators and the community of fathers who have participated since 2023. The session concluded with a group photograph and remarks from the Mayor emphasizing the program's role in filling community guidance gaps.
Good evening, everyone, and welcome to the uh Hampton City Council ceremonial session. This is uh spotlight on Hampton citizens this evening, and so with that I'm gonna ask the clerk to call the roll. Councilman Bowman. Present. Vice Mayor Brown. Here. Councilwoman Campbell, Councilwoman Faraby. Present. Councilwoman Harper, present. Councilwoman Muggler. President Mayor Gray. President. And tonight's spotlight topic is on family resilience. And so I'm going to turn it over to uh Brian Marcese, a marketing and outreach coordinator to uh kick the program off. Brian. Thank you, Mayor Gray, members of Council, City Manager Bunting and City Attorney Sidner. This evening's spotlight shines uh on a group of men who are helping to change lives. One father and one family and one conversation at a time. The Healthy Families Fatherhood Program is more than a city program. It's a community movement that helps connect uh dads, who helps dads connect, reflect, and grow alongside their children. Through the fatherhood program, fathers are given space to build confidence, learn new skills, and strengthen relationships, not only with their kids, but also with one another. It's a place where being a dad is not something just something you do, it's something you grow into together. At the center of this effort are five dedicated facilitators: Derek Neville's, Samuel Akban, Tyrone George, Arthur Edwards, and Darius Swift. Each of these men have full-time jobs in places like Christopher Newport or Hampton University and the Commonwealth Victim, uh Commonwealth Attorney Victim Witness Unit and other organizations around the region. But in the evenings, after their nine to five workday is done, they choose to spend their time leading fathers through this powerful program. And they do it not for recognition or reward, but because they believe in the impact that it makes. They believe in fathers and they believe in family. The program's cornerstone, the 24-7 Nurturing Dad series, is a 12-week journey that explores topics such as men's health, positive discipline, co-parenting, and mindfulness. During the winter months, the special level up your dad game workshop focuses on child development and financial literacy, offering real-world lessons that help fathers support their families every day. Since 2023, Healthy Families, Antonette Edwards has transformed this program from only a few sign-ups and participants to nearly 600 fathers and family members who have participated in the programs today. Also, thanks in part to one-time fatherhood initiative grant from the Virginia Department of Social Services, which advances the state's five-year plan to strengthen family engagement. But tonight is more about that than the numbers is today is more about numbers, is not about numbers or curriculum. It's about connection, excuse me. You'll see that connection right here is in this room because of many of the fathers who take part in the Dad's 24-7 program, which meets coincidentally at the same time as council on Wednesday evenings, have come out tonight and are out here in uh the audience. They decide to spend their time here together showing their support for their facilitators and to celebrate the program and the journeys they've had with uh as fathers. That alone says everything you need to know about the heart of this program. These men have built something special, a brotherhood of fathers who support each other, share wisdom, and grow stronger as parents and as people. Whether through dad's day out events, the learning and literacy garden at Bluebird Gat Farm, which they help build, or simply through weekly conversations. They are living proof that when fathers thrive, families thrive. So tonight we honor both the facilitators who lead with dedication and the fathers who show up with courage and commitment. Together, they are helping build a stronger, more connected Hampton, one family at a time. So at this time, I'd like to invite uh some of those people up. Uh first I'd like to invite um Antonette Edwards. She uh actually um uh is in charge of the facilitators and and um coordinates them. Um have Antonette come up. Mayor Yeah, you can yes, you can stay under each one, yeah. Uh next we'll have Derek Neville. Is Derek not here? He's he's working tonight. Fair enough.