Fatherhood First

The Missouri Bootheel Regional Consortium's Fatherhood First Program in conjunction with the Missouri Department of Conservation will again host its Annual Fishing Clinic this year.

The event will be held from 9 a.m., to 12 p.m., Saturday, August 14, 2010 at Combs Lake, located off Highway 84 about five miles before you get to the series of bridges and Kennett . There will be a sign indicating which way to turn.

Lunch will be from 12 p.m. to 1 p.m.

The fishing clinic, gives all who participate a chance to learn the sport as well as the safety aspects that go along with it. A safety presentation will be given by the Missouri Department of Conservation.

According to Kenneth Longdon, program coordinator for Fishing Day, transportation will only be provided to outlying areas and not in the city of Kennett.

Pick-up times will be at 8 a.m., in Scott County, 8:30 a.m., in Pemiscot County, at 8:15 a.m., in New Madrid County, 7:30 a.m., in Mississippi County, and 8:15 a.m. in Dunklin County.

In Scott County, the pick-up site will be at the Sikeston Cream Castle at 801 Malone Avenue. In Pemiscot County, pick-up will be at the Haven Resource Center, 519 Ward Avenue, Caruthersville. In Dunklin County, pick-up will be located at The Bootheel Education Center in Malden. In New Madrid County, transportation will be provided at the New Madrid Family Resource Center, 420 Virginia Avenue. In Portageville, pick-up will be offered at MBRC, Inc., located at 46 Highway 162 East, and in Mississippi County, at the Charleston Library located at 105 E. Marshall.

There will be free food, T-shirts, and music. A free fishing pole and tackle box will also be provided, while quantities last.

The S.H.O.W. Mobile will be on hand to administer free blood pressure screenings and first aid, if needed.

The MBRC, Inc. is a not-for-profit community based company located in Portageville, Mo. The counties in the Bootheel the company serves are Dunklin, Mississippi, New Madrid, Pemiscot, and Scott.

The company sponsors many core programs and provides support, education, training, targeted interventions, and community events for families in the Bootheel.

One of the programs that the company sponsors is the Fatherhood First Program. Its specific goal is to empower fathers and other young men in the area by teaching life skills, job readiness training, and helping them to develop healthy, productive relationships with their families.

With family in mind, the program concentrates on the skill of parenting from the male perspective.

Annual Fishing Clinic for area youth, August 14

The program tries to instill and cultivate socially and economically responsible habits that will benefit families over time.

Fatherhood First stresses the participants how important a father's role is in the life of a child, in their development and from life's earliest stages.

The areas of training and education the Fatherhood First Program offers are life skills, self esteem, anger management, relationship skills, substance abuse, job readiness, financial management, child support issues and child abuse and neglect.

Two events that Fatherhood First sponsors is the Annual Fatherhood First Conference and the Annual Fishing Day.

Fatherhood First Conferences are in their seventh year and the Annual Fishing Day is in its eighth year. According to Fatherhood First, thousands of fathers, children, and families have participated.

For more information on pick-up points, the event itself or to RSVP, call 573-379-2020 or Toll Free, 1-888-317-4949.

* Some of the information in this article was taken from the following sources, http://www.mbrcinc.org/About%20Us.aspx, http://postpartumdadsproject.org/2009/05..., http://manta.com/c/mmdfv26/missouri-boot..., http://www.mbrcinc.org/Fatherhood%20Firs....