Never underestimate the power you have to make positive change in people’s lives. Two months ago I took the initiative and created the concept for a local Family Festival that I named “CK Family Fest”.  The mandate was simple. Organize a free family festival for no other reason other than I can. I often find myself searching for activities and events to take my daughter to on the weekends I have her. I wanted to be able to provide parents in Chatham Ontario with someone to take their kids on April 17^th 2010.

I initially jotted down a list of things I would like to have at this festival. This included games, prizes, face painting,  crafts etc. I own a bouncy castle so I wanted to toss that into the event as well. I also run a tribute agency called Legendary Tributes Ent. I aimed to have a “Chatham Idol” singing contest for the kids as well.

Thankfully I had the support of a fellow NADADS member Cindy who gave up a lot of person time to help seek donations and sponsors. This even was going to be free however we still needed support. We managed to acquire roughly $400.00 in donations ranging from an MP3 Player to gift certificates. The hall was donated by the Canadian Auto Workers Local 127.

The local media picked it up as well. I did two live radio interviews, a newspaper interview and got free printing of our ads from Express Printing in Chatham. In these interviews I mentioned that I am the founder of Not All Dads Are Deadbeats however the Family Festival is not pushing an agenda. I was putting in my time and effort because I feel we need to exemplify our roles as proud parents and be as active in the community as we can.

The day went far better than expected. We had close to 400 people show up over the course of the day. The pay off for me was to see all the kids with big smiles on their faces. I had countless “thank yous” from the parents who appreciated the effort. Several business people approached me and said that they will financially support the festival next year.

The bottom line for me is that I feel we MUST get outside and talk to people. We must get away from our computers and engage in real world solutions. CK Family Fest will not change the courts but it certainly gives NADADS that extra validity that is needed. The idea is to change the climate of our culture and we do that one person at a time (or in this case 400 people at a time).

Now we can say “NADADS also runs one of Chatham-Kents biggest Family Festivals”. This festival will be run again next year and will be even better. I strongly encourage everyone to exemplify their roles in any positive fashion you can.

As a footnote to CK Family Fest – I didn’t even have my own daughter that weekend. So, I spent a month of hard promoting and work for a family festival that I couldn’t even take my own daughter to.

I hardly consider it to be self-sacrifice when I stood on that stage and saw so many kids enjoying themselves.

Hopefully, on a weekend that I have my daughter there will be an event that a proud parent spearheaded that I can take her to.

Be the change you wish to see in the world. No matter how much work is involved.

It’s worth it.

Here is the website if you want to check out the sponsors - http://ckfamilyfest.com/

~ Dave Flook
Proud Father

Hey Gang,

           I just wanted to make a quick post to keep everyone updated on the latest NADADs news.

I met with the newly formed committee here in Chatham (Thanks Kevin, Dave & Cindy!). We have lots of great plans for NADADs starting with a fund raising campaign that will be kicking off in two weeks. We will need everyone on board with this campaign (even a $5.00 donation is incredibly helpful). Our goal is to raise enough money to be able to rent office space downtown for a drop in center. I know with all the great people we have on board we can meet this objective.

I still need to plan the next group meeting. My time has been incredibly limited lately which is why I will be looking for more help from our members. This is OUR group and everyone needs to contribute.

The winter will be over soon and the nice summer breeze will be upon us soon. This will be a goundbreaking year for NADADs and we all have a lot to look forward to.

Keep up the great work everyone and always...stay strong.

~ Dave Flook

Just a quick update - I have moved the website to a new server. We noticed that the previous server was getting quite slow & sluggish. Please be sure to give us feedback. Do you find the new server any faster? (Im on a month plan right now. Just testing it out before I chuck several years of hosting fees towards the server). From an admin's perspective I am finding it much faster.

Cheers!

~ Dave

I am very pleased to announce that after a considerable amount of hard work I have added a feature-rich community feature to www.notalldadsaredeadbeats.com. This is a social networking upgrade very much like Facebook. Here is a rundown of some of the great features:
 

• create your own profile. Add bio/contact information
• create picture galleries and upload your pictures
• create or join in discussion groups
• upload video links to specific groups
• message other users
• create a wall on your profile where you can leave messages and reply to others
  
  ... and MUCH more!

I have also added a LIVE CHAT feature (located at bottom of your community page). You will be able to chat live to other users and create your own live chat groups.

This is a free feature of NADADS. If you are already a member then simply log in (select community in the menu) to use the system. If you do not have an account then simply visit the community link and fill out the basic application form.

I look forward to further developing this unique online community.

Regards,
~Dave Flook

Hey Gang,

          I have spent a good deal of time tonight revamping the Judges & Lawyers Directory (Click Here To View). This section of our website will be a full directory for complaints & recommendations. I have added some great new features such as:

• Commenting system - now you will be able to post replies and comments for each entry.
• File uploads - you will be able to upload any audio, pdfs or images that support your claim or provide more information.
• Updated submission system - members will be able to keep a log of their own posts and reedit as needed.

This new section is viewable by both guests and members of NADADs.com however you must be a registered member to post an entry. For members - you can access the entry system by logging in and clicking on "Judges/Lawyers Directory Entry" under the --USER MENU --. All posts will go live to the site once they are submitted.

I STRONGLY encourage you to upload supporting documents or audio. Lets do what we can to educate others about the unethical, unprofessional and downright corrupt behaviour of certain Lawyers & Judges.

(For those who had previously made an entry into the last system - I will be moving all the information over to the new system. So your posts wont be lost however it may take a day or two to accomplish this).

The Judges and Lawyers Directory can be found under "3. Learn" (or click here to view).

On a sidenote - I have LOTS of great news for everyone. Keep an eye out. I wont go into too much detail but lets just say we are meeting with the right people . Ill have more information this week.

~ Dave Flook
Proud Father Of Stevie Lee

(Please note - several ads went out with the wrong contact phone number. Our number is (519) 380 - 0635)

We are very pleased to announce that the non-profit equal parenting organization Not All Dads Are Deadbeats is now based in Chatham.  We are a community oriented support group for proud parents who have been systematically removed from their children by the Canadian family court system.

We will be conducting the first of many educational workshops on Jan. 5th 2010. These workshops are focused on providing the practical skills needed to combat court injustice. They also offer real world
solutions to the growing problems of gender bias in the courts, radical feminist agendas, government & institutional corruption, to name only a few problems we face.

This will be an interactive workshop. Participation in the proceedings is strongly encouraged!

We look forward to meeting all of the proud parents & grandparents at the workshop.

(Special note to London residents: NADADs will be looking to replicate this workshops in London later in January).

Empowerment Through
Education Workshop
Tuesday January 5th: 6pm
Chatham Central Public Library
120 Queen Street

Contact Information
Dave Flook
President & Proud Father
Not All Dads Are Deadbeats
(519) 380 - 0635

I have spent some time tonight adding a new commenting system to our website. Now you will be able to make comments on blog entries. This is sure to increase guest/member participation. Everyone can have their say!

To submit a comment click on the "Add New Comments" / "Comments" link at the bottom of each article.

~ Dave Flook

Hey Gang,

               I have spent some time setting up a judges & lawyers directory on Not All Dads Are Deadbeats. Now you will be able to view public complaints (or on the rare occasion public recommendations). You will also be able to post your own complaints which include the judge/lawyer's contact information, description AND audio uploads.

I strongly encourage everyone to record their trials and to upload any examples of unethical or unprofessional behaviour.

It is our duty to inform each other about unethical lawyers and judges. Once they see that their client base is both much more educated about their conduct perhaps they will aim to curve any unprofessional or downright corrupt behaviour.

View the directory here (please note we are still editing/updating the template)

http://notalldadsaredeadbeats.com/index.php?option=com_sobi2&Itemid=146

Be sure to get your complaints in :)

~ Dave