Detroit Archives - Dad of Divas

The weather is getting warmer and that means that it is time to celebrate with the Blog Pop Team for their annual Spring Fling Event! Between March 26-29 the 10 bloggers from Blog Pop are working together to bring you some awesome giveaways! So go and check out the following blogs for some other great prizes, and remember to come back here a lot over the next few days to enter for some great prizes! The 10 blogs that are a part of the school rules event include:

Daddy Mojo	Still Blonde After all These years	Dad of Divas	Being MVP	Way to Go Life
Momma Told Me	Comeback Momma	Keenly Kristen	Modly Chic	Andrea’s World

My next giveaway is Below!

Olympia Entertainment and Etico Productions once again present the children’s favorite, If You Give A Mouse A Cookie, a family production that explores the tasty chain reaction set in motion when a little boy offers a cookie to a visiting mouse. This heartwarming stage adaptation, produced by Performance Network Theatre, returns for another delicious run at the City Theatre on Saturday, June 6 and Sunday, June 7.

Tickets ($19) go on sale this Friday, February 27 at 10 a.m. and can be purchased at OlympiaEntertainment.com, The Fox Theatre and Joe Louis Arena box offices, Hockeytown Authentics in Troy (without service charge) at all Ticketmaster locations and Ticketmaster.com. To charge tickets by phone, call (800) 745-3000. Groups of 10+ receive a discount by calling (313) 471-3099 for more information.

Created and directed by Etico Productions founder John Manfredi, If You Give A Mouse A Cookie is a madcap messy ride through Laura Joffe Numeroff’s best-selling children’s book. Don’t miss this funny heartwarming story about a boy and his energetic, demanding and inquisitive visitor. Michigan’s Etico Productions has been a leader in providing live family entertainment since 2007, including creating the Michigan Premieres of Alexander and the Terrible No Good Very Bad Day and Good Night Moon. Etico has also adapted other If You-stories including; If You Take a Mouse to School and If You Give Pig a Pancake.

The production is produced by the Performance Network, Ann Arbor’s premier professional theater. The theatre is home to award winning theatre, music and concert events, making it one of Michigan’s most renowned cultural destinations.

Performance schedule:
Saturday, June 6 – 11 a.m., 2 p.m. & 5 p.m.
Sunday, June 7 – 11 a.m. & 2 p.m .
Giveaway

How would you like to win a 4 pack of tickets for If You Give A Mouse A Cookie for you and your family? I will be giving away two 4 packs of tickets for the Sunday, June 7 performance at 2PM! All you need to do is fill out the below form to enter. The contest will run for one week and will end on April 9, 2015.

If You Give A Mouse A Cookie Performance Ticket Giveaway

Enter any of the giveaways below

Winner must be a resident of the U.S or Canada.

Winners are chosen at random, if you want all your chances counted, make sure you leave individual comments, not all of them in one!

Winner has 48 hours to contact me or another name will be chosen.

As required by the FTC: Blog POP! received no monetary compensation for this post. All opinions expressed are those of the writer’s alone.

THE FINE PRINT: All entrants must be 18 years of age or older. Please read each giveaway’s directions carefully as entry methods may differ, and giveaways may be open to different world areas. Please make sure you leave a way (valid email address) with your entries to be contacted if you win. Please note that Dad of Divas, Blog POP! or the Blog POP! bloggers are not responsible for sponsors that do not fulfill their prizes. We have represented each sponsor with the expectation they will fulfill their prize and in a timely manner. The sponsors, in most cases, are shipping their items to you directly. We will make every effort to assist you obtaining your prize. If there is an issue with a sponsor please notify the blog you won a prize from within 30 days for assistance, after that we may be unable to assist you. Good luck!

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Dads in the Limelight Series

Our 377th Dad in the Limelight is Bill Middlebrooks. I want to thank Bill for being a part of the Dads in the Limelight series. It has been great getting connected with him and now sharing him with all of you.

1) Tell me about yourself, (as well as how you are in the limelight for my readers knowledge)

I am a business entrepreneur, community servant, leader in the Detroit area. I attended the University of Michigan Ross School of Business as well as the Harvard Business School as part of the IBM Client Executive Program. I also the founder and Managing Partner of Excellence In Action, Inc, and am co-founder and Partner in Detroit Metro Ventures, LLC, a retail, food and beverage concession business that operates a portfolio of 16 establishments at the Detroit Metropolitan International Airport.

2) Tell me about your family

I have raised two extraordinary sons during his successful 29-year marriage. My oldest son, 1^st LT and Executive Officer Arthur J. Middlebrooks is a decorated combat veteran (Bronze Star Recipient) and a 2010 graduate of the United States Military Academy at West Point. My youngest son, Andrew M. Middlbrooks is a recent graduate of Western Michigan University with a Bachelor of Arts Degree in American Public Policy. He currently works for a Life Sciences lobbying firm in Washington, DC.

My new book, Dare to Be Extraordinary: A Collection of Positive Life Lessons from African American Fathers ,is available for purchase at ExtraordinaryFathers.com. Twenty-five percent of the proceeds from the sale of the book will be donated to the chosen charities of the book’s featured leaders.

3) What has been the largest challenge you have had in being a father?

Making sure I understood the specific needs of each of my sons and providing them all the necessary things they needed in life to succeed and not necessarily all the things they wanted.

4) What advice would you give to other fathers?

Spend a quantity of quality time with your children. The investment pay big positive dividends down the road.
Bill Middlebrooks, Dads in the Limelight, #limelightdads, Dad of Divas, Dad of Divas.com 5) Seeing that you (or your position) are in the limelight, how have you come to balance parenthood and outside life? If you are currently not in the limelight per se, please still answer this in regards to how you balance parenthood and outside life.

Balance is important in any part of life but no more so when you have accepted the responsibility to be an engaged, supportive and loving father. I’ve always put the needs of my sons first and foremost and was willing to sacrifice other non essentials activities that didn’t support my mission to raise them for success. To provide balance, it was important to make time for my wife and for them to see me doing that as well. Additionally, I knew I only had a limited amount of time to get them launch on the right path before they were ready to leave the nest.

6) What have you learned from the fathers that you have interacted with?

I’ve learned that there are many different approaches and positive outcomes to being a good father but the underlining theme is that good fathers make a conscious decision to openly accept the challenge of fatherhood, welcome the ups and downs of parenting and are willing to sacrifice to provide their children what they need (not necessarily what they want) for success.

7) What else would you share regarding your experiences as a father thus far

Being a father is the most important role, responsibility, challenge and greatest reward all rolled into one that I have ever experienced.

8) What have been the most memorable experiences that you have had thus far as a parent?

Seeing both sons graduate from college, accept meaning professional career opportunities and watching them become men of character, integrity and substance.

Bill Middlebrooks, Dads in the Limelight, #limelightdads, Dad of Divas, Dad of Divas.com