Jonathan Willis is invested in building stronger dads in Carter County.
Willis serves as the instructor for Strong Dads, a free program offered by the Carter County OSU Extension Office. Every three months, a cohort begins in which a range of topics are studied and discussed among men seeking to develop their skills as a parent.
Willis has been involved with building up fathers, starting with his foundation Real Dads Do Real Things. It all started with Willis relocating to Ardmore for a job and finding a home.
Moving to Ardmore
“I got here Feb. 15, 2015,” he said. “I was offered a job through AT&T. I was working down there in Houston and to be honest, I was praying to God for a new opportunity. I had kind of worked in McAlester at one point. Kind of like on a temporary deal and my boss got a call down there and said, ‘Hey man, you got an opportunity to take on a lineman position in a place called Ardmore, Oklahoma.’”
Willis had never been to Ardmore and didn’t know anyone that lived here. He came to Ardmore on Feb. 15 and stayed at the Salvation Army. He recalled getting down on his knees and praying about the opportunity.
“I said, God, if this is from you, I know that you will provide for me and lead me through all this,” he said. “Here I am, 10 years later, still here.”
Willis landed the job with AT&T, and he stayed at the Salvation Army until some co-workers let him move in with them until he got on his feet. He worked for AT&T until 2020, when he received a severance package as the company downsized.
“I took that money and started my foundation, Real Dads do Real Things, and I started my company, Affordable Networking,” he said. “I have been doing that off and on for a while. I have always had a passion for trying to help dads, thinking that if I can help dads become better. It will effectively help the entire family and then trickle down and make a huge impact on our community.”
Landing with Strong Dads
In 2023, Willis was going through a divorce and had gotten custody of his first son. He was at the human resources office trying to get some assistance when he saw a flyer for Strong Dads.
“I had talked to Eric Swenson before and we had kind of collaborated and talked about a few things,” Willis said. “But we had never done anything yet. I called him, I said, ‘Man, I really need to take this class. I need to better myself and I need to be a part of something like a brotherhood.’”
Willis took the class, and it had an impact. In fact, he is still connected with several others that took the class with him. He was part of a group that began doing Bible plans together and he felt that he had some brothers that he could call on if he just needed to talk.
Swenson also began taking Willis to teach some of his classes at Take Two. It was at that time that Swenson turned to Willis and told him that he needed to teach the class.
“He had kind of had some other opportunities on the table and he took them,” Willis said. “As I graduated, a few of weeks later, I started this position.
“I got to tell you, my co-workers here have been amazing. I come in here with ideas and they never try to put my fire out. They help me make my big dreams that I come up with the for the community happen.”
Setting up for success
Within a month of taking over as the instructor with Strong Dads, Willis decided he wanted to develop Family Fun Day. It was an event that he had tried to build under Real Dads. In looking back, Willis said he did not have the community connections be successful at that time.
He has increased his footprint within the community, having sat on the United Way of South Central Oklahoma Board and currently sits on the Salvation Army Board. He also reached out to Ellen Roberts at Lighthouse.
The event has grown into a success and Willis attributed it to a community collaboration.
“Tom Dunlap, who is a great mentor of mine, has told me, it takes a community to come together to sustain itself,” Willis said. “Ardmore is a great place. I have been here 10 years, and I don’t feel the need or the want to go back to a Houston or go to a Dallas.
“I really love all the resources and the opportunities that are right here in Ardmore, and I love trying to give these different partners or organizations a platform to be able to share the programs and the resources they have for these families.”
Willis said when he took the job, he did not know if he was qualified. The qualifications of the person they were looking for seemed daunting to him.
“But God qualifies us,” he said. “And things that he has of his will, nothing can stop it. That is one thing that I have learned.”
Ardmore has become home
Willis sees Ardmore as much more than a place to work. He considers it home and a great place to raise a family. His family supports his role as instructor for Strong Dads and supports each other. Willis said he has a 15-year-old son who will suit up for the Ardmore Tiger football team this fall. He also has 13-year-old twins, along with kids that are eight, five and four along with his bonus children.
“We are all together in this,” he said.
Willis said his wife is a source of encouragement and builds him up. He said a family is meant to support and motivate each other. For the Willis family, that means attending events throughout the year.
“Ardmore does that,” he said. “I have a new phrase that I share with my family, that you can’t spell family without the “A”. The “A” being Ardmore.”
Willis said Ardmore needs to continue to invest in family. He believes the surrounding communities will continue to gravitate toward Ardmore, citing the lower cost of living and available resources.
Growing and learning with Strong Dads
Willis is on his fifth cohort as the instructor with the one under his belt that he was a member of the class. In either role. Willis said he continues to grow and learn with each session.
“The time, the conversation, the mindset, be open for other opinions,” he said. “It is iron sharpens iron when you get into these classes and that is the great thing about this program. You will have a room between 10 to 15. Right now, we have over 20 dads that are in this class, that have different upbringings, different backgrounds, ethnicities and they will share different experiences.”
Willis said going through the program and being able to lead it provides different perspectives. He still has his book when he took the class and continually uses it as a reference.
“Some of these questions, I still feel the same about, or answers,” he said. “But some of this stuff, has evolved with me sharing in these classes. I get to come and open up as well.
“We have those situations such as grief and loss, which is a very impactful session that we talk about where we acknowledge some of us haven’t been taught the proper way to grieve. And we get to share some of the positive ways to handle those situations to kind of release that and not drag us down.”
Willis said he is open to new mindsets, and he has to be. He has had some young dads, and men who have not had children yet share their opinions. There are a lot of viewpoints, experiences and traumas coming together.
“For me, I look forward to class,” he said. “Out of anything I have going on during the week, I look forward to class. I even cook most of the time for my classes. This is how passionate about it I am for my guys.”
