Episode #359 – A Look Back on 2024
Hi I’m David Hirsch, founder of the 21st Century Dads Foundation and Special Fathers Network as well as host of the Special Fathers Network Dad To Dad Podcast.

Happy New Year and welcome to the first episode of 2025.

Tom Couch, the editor and producer of the SFN Dad To Dad Podcast, and I, thought we would do something special and provide a Look Back on 2024.

In total we produced 72 episodes, 52 were weekly episodes airing on Fridays and for 20 weeks from May through September we produced a series of short episodes with SFN Mentor Fathers who are also involved with the SFN Mastermind Group program. We called them SFN Mastermind Group Monday Podcasts. While we’d love to include a snippet from all 70+ episodes, to keep it more concise we decided to provide some highlights.

We hope you enjoy listening to this Look Back on 2024 Episode as much as we did producing it.

18 of the 2024 guests are authors.   Nine of the interviews included international guests, from the following seven countries: Australia, Canada, Cayman Islands, Cuba, Iceland, Israel and the UK. Four of the guests are women. Three interviews were with dads who lost a child including one who was an Israeli hostage killed by Hamas terrorists. Two interviews included military veterans: a former U.S. Navy Seal and a U.S. Air Force Vietnam-era combat pilot. And one of the guests is a Native American.

The episodes also spanned a very broad range of disabilities including; Autism, Down Syndrome, Cerebral Palsy, Rare Disease, Dwarfism as well as those who are blind, deaf and missing a limb(s). Here is a brief month by month recap with a clip from a select number of episodes.

In January, we aired four episodes including a dad from the UK and one from the Cayman Islands as well as with Jonathan Eig, father to three, including a son whose parents passed away at an early age. Jon is also the best-selling author of biographies on: Muhammad Ali, Lou Gehrig, and MLK.

In February, we aired four episodes including one with Dave Jereb of Sydney, Australia, a Physical Therapist, co-founder of Move About Therapies and author of the book: Challenging The Story. We also did a two-episode story with filmmaker Bob Manganelli, whose 23 year old deaf son, very tragically committed suicide, while at Gallaudet University back in 2014.

In March, we produced five episodes including a two-episode interview with Keith Harris of Albuquerque, NM who is a retired business owner and father of four, including son Tim who has Down Syndrome.   He and Tim owned and operated the restaurant Tim’s Place for five years. Tim also went on to author The Book of Hugs, a children’s book.

In April, we aired four episodes including one with Jonathan Bennett of Ontario Canada, who is an executive leadership coach, author and father of two, including one with Autism who is also non-binary.

In May, we did six episodes including one with Dr. Greg Pursley of Jackson, MO who is a chiropractor, owner of PC Medical Centers, an author and father of two, including a son who has Dwarfism.   We also interviewed John Borling of Rockford, IL who is a retired Major General in the U.S. Air Force. John was a combat pilot in Vietnam who flew 97 missions before being shot down and held hostage for six years, eight months at the Infamous Hanoi Hilton. And we interviewed Jon Ghahate a Pueblo Indian from Placitas, NM who is a Vietnam-er veteran and father of three, including a daughter who is sight impaired.

In June, we produced eight episodes including four SFN Mastermind Group Monday interviews with testimonials about their mastermind group experiences. One was with John Shouse of Franklin, TN an industrial control engineer and father of three including twin boys, one of which, Evan, is Autistic. John and his wife, Janet, have been leaders in the disability community throughout TN and John has been involved with the Tuesday night Mastermind group for nearly three years.   We also interviewed Paul Briggs of Falling Waters, WV, who is the father of 38. No this was not a typographical error or some misstatement. Paul and his wife, Jeanne, have six biological kids and 32 adopted children including: 13 from Ghana, 10 from Ukraine, six from Russia, two from Bulgaria and one from Mexico.
In July, we did nine episodes including five Mastermind Group Monday interviews. We also interviewed Kelley Coleman of Los Angeles, CA, a mother of two, a disability advocate, and author of Everything No One Tells You About Parenting a Disabled Child: Your Guide to the Essential Systems, Services, and Supports. We also interviewed Sam Farmer of North Easton, MA who is the father of a son with Autism and later in life was also diagnosed with Asperger’s. Sam is also the author of A Long Walk Down A Winding Road and has become one of the more well recognized self-advocates in the Autism community. We also Al Malavolti of Rockford, IL in a two-part interview. Al is a retired aerospace executive and he and his wife, Rosemary, have 22 children including four biologic kids and 17 adopted kids, and one they parented.

In August, we aired nine episodes including four Mastermind Group Monday episodes, including one with Tom Costello of Frankfort, IL who is the father of twin 21-year-old boys who are Autistic. Tom and his wife Irene created the Twin Autism Foundation and have been outspoken advocates for those diagnosed with ASD.   We also interviewed Alvin Green of Chicago who is a retired Chef. Alvin and his wife, Angela Ferguson, have two boys including Aiden who is Autistic. To provide Aiden with some career skills and to support himself, Alvin founded Al’s Cookie Mixx, a premium online cookie business that employs individuals who have intellectual disabilities.

In September, we produced nine episodes including five Mastermind Group Monday episodes and one with Agust Kristmanns of Reykjavik, Iceland who is the father of three including son, Ingi, who has 2Q37 Deletion syndrome, a rare chromosome condition that affects his development. We also interviewed Jonathan Polin who is an Israeli-American. Jonathan and his wife, Rachel Goldberg-Polin, became some of the most outspoken advocates speaking out about the urgency behind releasing the Israelis being held hostage by Hamas. They met with the Pope at the Vatican and President Biden at the White House. They spoke at the United Nations in Geneva and at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago. I interviewed Jonathan on day 328 of their son Hersh’s captivity and very sadly, just days later we learned about Hamas murdering six of the hostages including Hersh.

In October, we aired five episodes including one with Dr. Ruslan Vasyutin who is a single Ukrainian father to 12 year old daughter Alicia, who has Cerebral Palsy and unable to walk or talk. They are currently living in Solihull, England after fleeing Kiev in February 2022 after the Russia invasion of Ukraine.   We also interviewed Andrew Bustamante of Colorado Springs, CO who is the father of two young children. Andrew and his wife, Jihi, are both x-CIA undercover intelligence officers and hosts of the EverydaySpy Podcast. It was a fascinating conversation about utilizing CIA tactics to overcome adversity.

In November, we produced five episodes including one with fellow podcaster daughter-father team: Reena Friedman Watts and her father Wayne, who produce the Better Call Daddy Podcast. We also interviewed Todd Evans of Brentwood, TN who is an entrepreneur. He and his wife Kristin have two children with disability and are the co-authors of How To Build A Thriving Marriage As You Care For Children With Disabilities.

And in December we did four episodes including one with former U.S. Navy Seal Phillip Koontz who is a business owner, leadership coach and speaker, father of five including an Autistic son and author of the book: The Truth Behind My Trident, which provides a fascinating look behind the curtain of the life as a U.S. Navy Seal. We also interviewed Emma Livingstone of London, England who is the mother of three typical kids, who herself has Cerebral Palsy and is founder and CEO of UP - The Adult Movement For Adults With Cerebral Palsy.

All in all 2024 was an extraordinary year for the 21st Century Dads Foundation and Special Fathers Network. I want to offer my heartfelt thanks to:

Tom Couch, our SFN Dad To Dad Podcast editor and producer and my partner in crime,

To Our primary sponsor Horizon Therapeutics for the ongoing and generous support,
To all those who agreed to do interviews this past year, some of which were included here, and
Perhaps most importantly of all, YOU our valued listeners for tuning in week after week and sharing the episodes with family and friends.

For more information, please go to the show notes or visit: www.21stCenturyDads.org.

Thank you again and best wishes to you and your family for a safe and healthy new year.

Special Fathers Network -
SFN is a dad to dad mentoring program for fathers raising children with special needs. Many of the 800+ SFN Mentor Fathers, who are raising kids with special needs, have said: "I wish there

SFN Dad To Dad 359 - A Look Back On 2024