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How Dr Bernard Wh Jennings Turns Fatherhood Into Success: Lessons From The National ‘Father Of The Year’
Fatherhood powers Dr Bernard WH Jennings’s leadership and business success as family values and advocacy shape policy and support minority entrepreneurs
The scene at Fort Pierce’s Boys & Girls Club last Saturday night captured something powerful about modern leadership. Ten-year-old Ethan Jennings stepped forward, beaming with pride, and insisted on crowning his father himself. Dr Bernard Wh Jennings had just been named National ‘Father of the Year’ by the International Fathers’ Association, but this moment revealed the deeper truth behind his success: his greatest professional achievements flow directly from his commitment as a father.
The crowning wasn’t just ceremony. It represented the culmination of a man who built his entire career around a simple principle – that being an exceptional father doesn’t compete with professional ambition, it fuels it.
The Foundation: When Personal Becomes Professional
Dr Jennings operates from multiple leadership positions across Florida. He serves as President and CEO of the New Biscayne Gardens Chamber of Commerce, works as a Florida Supreme Court-certified mediator, holds a trustee position at Florida Memorial University, and recently joined the board of the Foundation of Youth and Economic Development. He’s also the 24th Congressional Delegate in South Florida and runs his own political consulting practice.
Yet all of this stems from one pivotal moment in his fatherhood journey. When Jennings faced challenges securing his parental rights as an unwed father to Ethan, he didn’t just fight the legal battle – he turned his personal struggle into systematic change.
The result was Ethan’s Good Dad Act, which became Florida House Bill 775. Enacted on 1 July 2023, the legislation grants unwed biological fathers automatic rights to shared custody when they sign a birth certificate. The law eliminates previous legal obstacles that prevented fathers from actively participating in custody decisions and visitation arrangements.
‘This is not just my crown—this belongs to every father fighting to be in their child’s life, to every man balancing work and parenting, and to every kid like Ethan who believes in their dad. Being a good father isn’t just a role—it’s a purpose,’ Jennings said during Saturday’s ceremony.
Building Systems That Scale
Jennings’s approach demonstrates how successful men integrate family priorities into professional systems. Rather than compartmentalising fatherhood and career, he uses the same skills across both domains.
Through his leadership of the New Biscayne Gardens Chamber of Commerce, Jennings focuses on supporting minority-owned businesses and fostering local entrepreneurship. The Chamber provides business training, marketing skill development and networking opportunities, partnering with Google to deliver digital skills education for community members including students, veterans and women.
His advocacy work extends beyond Florida. New Jersey recently passed its own version of the Good Dad Act, following the model Jennings established. Building lasting change requires strategic connections – something Jennings understood from the beginning.
Research consistently shows that fathers develop critical managerial skills through parenting – empathy, time management and emotional intelligence. Employers often view fathers more favourably than non-fathers, creating what researchers call a ‘fatherhood bonus’ in workplace perception.
The Power of Active Partnership
Saturday night’s gala highlighted another crucial element of Jennings’s approach: involving family members as active participants in his mission. Ethan didn’t just watch his father receive recognition – he placed the crown himself. Jennings’s wife, Vanessa Cassis Jennings, stood alongside them, completing the family unit that supports his broader work.
This isn’t symbolic participation. Ethan’s involvement in advocating for the Good Dad Act demonstrates how successful fathers create opportunities for children to contribute meaningfully to important work. The legislation literally bears Ethan’s name, making him a stakeholder in his father’s professional mission.
Studies of executive fathers reveal that those who actively involve family in their work report higher life satisfaction and better job performance. The traditional model of compartmentalised work-family boundaries often leads to conflict and stress.
Applying Fatherhood Principles to Business Leadership
Jennings’s dual roles reveal how fatherhood principles enhance business effectiveness. His work with the Chamber of Commerce focuses on creating opportunities for minority entrepreneurs – the same equity-focused thinking that drove his fathers’ rights advocacy.
His political consulting practice and role as Congressional Delegate allow him to influence policy at multiple levels. The combination works because the skills transfer directly. Mediating family disputes requires the same emotional intelligence needed for business negotiations. Advocating for your child’s rights builds the same communication abilities required for political consulting.
Anna Pierre, founder of the International Fathers’ Association, recognises this connection between individual fatherhood and community impact. ‘The goal has always been to make fatherhood visible, valued and celebrated. Fathers are the cornerstone of strong families and healthy communities,’ she said during the gala.
Practical Applications for Other Men
Jennings’s approach offers specific methods other fathers can implement:
First, treat parenting challenges as professional development opportunities. When he faced custody obstacles, Jennings used his legal and advocacy skills to create lasting change. Men can apply their professional expertise to solve family problems while building new capabilities.
Second, involve children in meaningful work. Rather than keeping work separate from family, successful fathers create age-appropriate ways for children to contribute to important projects. Building lasting impact through service starts with the foundation you create at home.
Third, scale personal solutions into broader impact. Research from the Administration for Children and Families shows that responsible fatherhood programmes improve children’s psychological well-being, academic achievement and reduce behavioural problems. Individual fathers who solve problems systematically can create community-wide benefits.
Fourth, align business activities with family values. Jennings’s focus on minority business development through the Chamber connects directly to his advocacy for underrepresented fathers. This alignment creates more sustainable motivation and clearer decision-making frameworks.
From Activism to Institution Building
The progression in Jennings’s career shows how sustained fatherhood engagement creates opportunities for broader leadership. His bestselling book, ‘Ethan’s Good Dad Act: A Father Turns Lemons Into Lemonade’, continues influencing thought leaders, lawmakers and parents nationally.
Ethan’s Good Dad Act: A father turns lemons into lemonade for all Good Dads to take a sip!
Ethan’s Good Dad Act” unfolds the poignant journey of Bernard, a determined father engaged in a relentless battle for the legal right to parent his son Ethan. This book intricately weaves personal anecdotes with a tapestry of facts, figures, case studies, and research, offering readers a profound understanding of the multifaceted challenges confronting fathers in their pursuit of parental rights.
Available in Hardcover, Paperback and Kindle editions
The book title reveals his fundamental philosophy: turning personal setbacks into public progress. His multiple board positions and leadership roles flow naturally from his reputation as someone who solves problems systematically. The proportion of children living with resident fathers has reached a 34-year high, partly due to advocacy work like Jennings’s that makes father involvement more accessible and valued.
The Gala Moment: Leadership in Action
Return to Saturday night at Fort Pierce. The International Fathers’ Association recognised ten exceptional nominees: Patrick Eliancy, Rod Smith, Will Armstead, Pierre Philantrope, Dr Bernard WH Jennings, Isaac L. Jones, Pastor Travis O’Neal, Bito David, Mora Etienne Jr, King Sena and Dr Ernabhor Ighodaro. Bito David earned recognition as ‘Daddy of the Year’.
When Ethan stepped forward to crown his father, he demonstrated the ultimate measure of Jennings’s success: a child who takes pride in his father’s work and wants to participate in recognising it. This represents leadership development in its purest form – raising the next generation to value service and achievement.
The moment captures why Jennings’s approach works. Successful modern fathers don’t balance competing priorities between work and family. They create integrated systems where family involvement enhances professional effectiveness and professional skills strengthen family relationships.
As fathers across the country celebrated Father’s Day yesterday, Jennings’s example provides a practical blueprint: treat fatherhood not as a constraint on ambition, but as the foundation for creating lasting impact that extends far beyond your own household.
