FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
May 15, 2009
Talbert House’s Fatherhood Celebration honors dads
Three men were selected as Fathers of the Year
CINCINNATI—Talbert House held its first Fatherhood Celebration on April 24, 2009. Talbert House serves fathers through its Fatherhood Project, a program that assists men in their efforts to become the responsible, committed and nurturing fathers they want to be. The program, which was started by the former agency, SUMA, has graduated 400 men from its Nurturing Fathers classes.
At the event, Talbert House honored three men as Fathers of the Year: Bennett Cooper Sr., retired director of Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction; Mike Martin, head football and track coach at Taft Information Technology High School; and Rob Vogelsong, a graduate of the Talbert House Fatherhood Project. See our complete photo archive here.
2009 Fathers of the Year
Bennett Cooper Sr.
| Bennett Cooper Sr. is the father of three and a proud grandfather and great-grandfather. He was appointed the first director of Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction, becoming the first African American in the country to serve in that capacity. Previously, he served as the superintendent and chief psychologist of Ohio State Reformatory in Mansfield and worked for the US Postal Service. Cooper received a bachelor’s and master’s in Industrial Psychology at Case Western Reserve University. Ashland College presented Cooper with an Honorary Doctorate in Humanities for his development of college degree programs for inmates. He and his wife, Zelda, have been married for 67 years. |
First row: Zelda Cooper, Melda Cooper. Second row: Honoree Bennett Cooper Sr. and Bennett Cooper Jr. |
Mike Martin
Honoree Mike Martin (right) with son, Marcus, and wife, Michelle.
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Married to Michelle for 22 years, Mike Martin is a father of two. He is the head football and head track coach at Taft Information Technology High School, a consultant for Cincinnati Bell and former wide receiver for the Cincinnati Bengals. Since Martin become head coach in 2002, the school has graduated 98 percent of its football players and has sent numerous student-athletes to college. Mike attended the University of Illinois in Champaign/Urbana and has won many coaching and humanitarian awards including the 2005 Coach of the Year from the Marvin Lewis Foundation. |
Rob Vogelsong
| Robertson Vogelsong is a father of three and a grandfather of one. He is a 2007 graduate of the Fatherhood Project and has recommitted to his children’s lives. As a Fatherhood Project alum, he continues to volunteer with the program. Rob is active in his church, Norwood Wesleyan Church, as the minister of music and as a volunteer with the youth group. Rob also is assistant softball coach for his daughter’s high school team. He works for the Warnick Company. Rob lives with his wife, Cindy, and their family in Norwood. |
Honoree Rob Vogelsong (far right) and his family and Ohio Commission on Fatherhood's Tracy Robinson (far left). |
Thank you to the sponsors of Talbert House Fatherhood Celebration
- biggs Curtis-Breeden Foundation
- The Michael Clauder Family
- Midland Atlantic
- Thompson Hine
- US Bank
Talbert House also honors these men who were recognized by the community at the Fatherhood Celebration:
- Julian Goldberg
- Thomas J. Kennedy
- Kenneth Lutz
- Alvin Meisel
- Robert Nau
- Elvin Silverman
- Schuyler Smith
- Ralph Tilow Sr.
- Paul Wells
Talbert House is a community-wide nonprofit network of social services with 30 proven programs focusing on prevention, assessment, treatment and reintegration. Each year, Talbert House helps 25,000 men, women and children across Greater Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky overcome adversity to become healthy and productive citizens through its programs in community corrections, mental health, substance abuse and welfare-to-work.
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