Brevard Sheriff Wayne Ivey Wishes All Dads Happy Father’s Day, Honors His Dad With Tribute
By Wayne Ivey – Brevard Sheriff // June 20, 2021
Happy Father's Day
BREVARD COUNTY, FLORIDA – In 1997, I lost my Dad to cancer and in doing so lost the best friend, mentor, teacher, leader, and superhero I ever had!! My Dad may have never realized it, but he was each of those things to me and I will forever miss him in my life.
My Dad was my best friend until the day he died, but he never let being my best friend get in the way of being my parent.
As a best friend my Dad encouraged me to be loyal to the core, to drop what I was doing to go help someone, to listen to the problems of others, and to understand that being a best friend was an incredible honor and gift.
As a mentor, my Dad showed me how to work hard, to always strive to be the best, to be a gentleman, to treat others with respect, and to understand that, “it’s not if you work hard you will be successful, it’s if you don’t work hard you can’t be successful.”
As a teacher my Dad taught me the importance of being a good Dad, how to build things, how to break things, how to laugh, and how to hopefully make others laugh so that everyone was enjoying life.
My Dad also taught me to love what you do so that you never go to work, you simply go to do something you love.
As a leader, the absolute most important thing my Dad ever showed me was how to be part of a team.
Yes every team has a leader, but to be the leader you have to be part of the team first, and to do that you have to show that you are willing to work just as hard as everyone else, take credit for losses just as much as you would be willing to take credit for victories, and make sure that every component of the team is just as strong as the other.
As a superhero, in my eyes, Dad could do everything better than anyone else!! He could throw a ball farther, build anything better, drive faster, or win any game we played. He was a real superhero but he never wore a cape, instead at times he wore slacks with his shirt tucked in, work clothes, suspenders, a nail apron, a tool belt, and sometimes if we were lucky on the weekend he wore a BBQ apron.
I’m not sure that my Dad ever truly realized he was all of those things to me, but what I am sure of, is that as my Dad he knew I needed him to be all of those things to me!!
So today as your kids celebrate Father’s Day with you, I ask you to remember that regardless if you are Dad, Stepdad, Grandfather, or someone stepping into a kids life that needs a Dad, you are everything to them…a best friend, a mentor, a teacher, a leader, and their Superhero!! No other job in the world is more important, more challenging or more rewarding!!
Happy Father’s Day!
– Sheriff Wayne Ivey