These OC dads go above and beyond at home and work.
Travis Hartman
Work: Police officer with Westminster Police Department; former K9 officer who continues educating the community with retired K9 Pako
Family: Deanna, Greer, 6, and Dawson, 2
What are you most proud of in your work and as a dad?
“I am most proud of being able to provide my kids the opportunity to travel with Deanna and I. We want to provide them with life-long happy memories of family vacations and experiences.”
What inspires you?
“When I look for inspiration as a dad, I look to my kids. I love seeing their reaction when they are successful in something they may have thought was going to be more difficult. When I know that I was a part of their success and that moment they are beaming with pride in their accomplishments, I am inspired to push forward and create more of those opportunities for my family.”
Dave Monk
City: Mission Viejo
Family: Elizabeth, Mason, 13, Campbell, 11, and Gibson, 9
Work: Founding partner and chief technology officer at cloud-based software company Vaultara
What are you most proud of in your work and as a dad?
“The scope of my position allows me to look not only where we are as a company, but also where we can possibly go. In this light, I’m incredibly proud of giving back and supporting members of the US Armed Forces in the day-to-day operations of allowing veterans to obtain healthcare from outside of the VA — and this is coming from a British national who understands the important role that US service men and women play supporting other countries the world over, not just the US itself. Since my early 20s, I always wanted to be a father but I was somewhat late in the day getting round to finding someone who could see through the ‘humor’ and other barriers that I put up to hide my insecurities behind. As a result, it took me a while to finally build my own family and in doing so I would state that I’m most proud of the decisions that my children end up making in their choices for friends, and apparent wisdom beyond their years when giving advice to those friends.”
What inspires you?
“As an entrepreneur, I’m always looking for inspiration — and I find it comes from the most unlikely of places. Although a keen reader, I don’t crave self-help books or other typically popular and inspirational material. Instead I find inspiration in tenacity through troubled times. The very fact that despite what one may be currently going through, there’s no indication that those times won’t end within the next 10 minutes, two days or one month — we just don’t know and so to keep one’s head down and work through, gives me the inspiration to carry on — sometimes irrespective of what the world throws at you! That level of uncertainty, that success may be just round the corner coupled with my own personal faith in something bigger than we can see. That excites me and keeps me going in believing in what I’m doing.”
Kevin Corbett
City: Rancho Santa Margarita
Family: Michelle, Abby, 10, and Will, 8
Work: Owner of My Gym Children’s Fitness Center in Rancho Santa Margarita
What are you most proud of in your work and as a dad?
“At work I am most proud of the community we have built at My Gym RSM. I love going to work every day knowing we are truly making a difference in these children’s lives. Being there to witness them accomplish their first major milestones of crawling to walking, to their first forward roll or cartwheel is something I am truly grateful for. As a dad, I’m proud of the sweet, kind and caring children Abby and Will have become.”
What inspires you?
“My wife is an ultra-runner and has completed several races ranging from 50k to 100 miles. Seeing the amount of dedication it takes to prepare for those is truly inspiring and keeps me motivated to stay physically active myself. I like to keep in shape, not only so I can keep up with my kids but I also want to be able to run around with my grandkids in the future.”
Nick Rickenbach
City: Westminster
Family: Casey and Jace, 9 months
Work: Owner of Nick Rick Interactive and software engineering consultant
What are you most proud of in your work and as a dad? “I’m proud that I can help companies hit new acquisition and conversion milestones as well as get Jace to hit his baby milestones. Any positive feedback from either party is appreciated.”
What inspires you? “His little smile. Anytime I’m getting overwhelmed with clients, his laugh and smile bring me back to a calm place to rethink, focus and complete the task at hand.”
Douglas Croson
City: Laguna Hills
Family: Diane, Davis, 23, Chester, 22, Dove Marie, 2.5 years, and Dutch, 10 months
Work: VP of Business Development for Microscope World
What are you most proud of in your work and as a dad?
“With work, it is being of service providing the correct solution to meet the customers’ needs and bolster sales. As a dad, being present. Unfortunately, in my younger years, I had a hard time compartmentalizing work (shutting it off) and although I was physically present, mentally I was still wrapped up in work. I tried very hard to overcome this character defect and it wasn’t until I surrendered this problem with God that I gained any traction. This is still a work-in-progress today but His grace provides a foundation, allowing me to quickly recognize that I need to be present.”
What inspires you? “Being of service and helping others fuels my ambition.”
Mark Schumacher
City: Mission Viejo
Family: Aliy, Leo, 5, and Millie, 3Work: Professional speaker and standup comedian
What are you most proud of in your work and as a dad?
“I’m proud that the work I do brings people together, makes them laugh and gives them a little reprieve from daily challenges. Life is hard, parenting is hard, teaching is hard — think about how difficult it has been to be a teacher over the last few years, how hard it is to be a parent. We need breaks from the hard things. We need time to de-stress. I’m so grateful to be able to provide even a little bit of that to others. As a dad, I love that my kids are so resilient. When we try something new — whether it be a sport, a board game, getting dressed — of course there is some level of frustration, but seeing them try something over and over again and eventually get it is awesome.”
What inspires you? “My kids inspire me to live in the moment. I can get in my head often and get stuck thinking about all the mundane tasks that come with being a parent. I love seeing how excited my kids get from simple things like playing with chalk, riding their bike or seeing a friend. My son had his first loose tooth last month and thought it was the best of his life. I love seeing life through their eyes.”
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