Do you know a Dad who works hard, puts his family first, always makes time for his kids, and gives back to our community? Tell us about him and nominate him for Long Island Super Dad!
MVP Dad
Mark L.
Profile: Volunteer Involvement: I belong to a Long Island based group called LI Elite, which is an under 40 professional networking group that has an emphasis on charity related events, sponsorships and member awareness.
Profession: By day I'm a partner at a local real estate property Management firm (Excel Bradshaw Management Group) and by night I'm a blogger extroadanaire (www.EastofNYC.com), trying to keep all LI residents and visitors aware of what's unique about our area.
Education: I have a Bachelor's degree in Real Estate and Metropolitan Development from Baruch College in NYC.
Children: The love of my life, Isabella was born on November 6th, 2007. We also have a 3-year old Shih tzu, Laila.
Fun Q & A with our Spotlight Dad:Personal:What phrase or motto do you live by? My personal belief is not to make a big deal out of what you'll forget by next year. We get too caught up in the small stuff that doesn't matter in the long run.
Inspiration: My wwife, Amanda is my inspiration. She does so much, between working, keeping active and healthy and doing a great job raising our daughter.
If you could teach your kids one thing and have it impact them, what would it be? I'm a firm believer in treating everyone equally, with dignity and respect. Whether it is the Fortune 500 executive or the busboy at your local diner, everyone is important, and everyone should be respected for what they do.
How do you measure success? Success should be measured by happiness. I know plenty of miserable people who make a lot of money and those who do what they love and live a more modest lifestyle.
Greatest Accomplishment: This would be the birth of Isabella, as cheesy as it sounds. For 9 months, I didn't have that much involvement and did what I could to make it easy for Amanda, but I am trying to level the playing field now by being there for both of them as much as I can.
Proudest Moment: That's a toss up between my wedding day and Izzy's birth day.
Biggest Challenge: Time allocation. I'm pulled in many directions between work and family and I don't want to neglect either responsibility.
Wildest Dream: To retire a multi-millionaire with houses on a few different continents.
Sport/Exercise Program: I **attempt to work out a few times a week, although lately it has been once a week at best. Finding the time to balance between work, family and self is the toughest hurdle I face.
What would people be surprised to learn about you? I'm very funny, really.
Where did you grow up: Plainview, Long Island.
How many siblings: One sister, Melanie, who is four years older
First Job: I've been at my first job since the mid-1990's. It's a family business, and I still work with my dad up until this day.
Childhood Ambition: I always wanted to become a professional jazz musician
Favorites:Favorite Local Restaurant: George Martin's Coastal Grill in Long Beach, Hinata in Great Neck, waterzooi in Garden City
Favorite Coffee Spot: I'm addicted to Starbucks (Iced Venti Sugar Free Mocha Soy Latte, please!)
Favorite Soundtrack/song: Love the "Garden State" Soundtrack
Favorite Movie: American Psycho
Favorite TV Show: The Office, Arrested Development
Retreat: The Borgata in Atlantic City for some poker.
Last Book You Read: The Bourne Betrayal
Indulgence: Candy and chocolate
Tell us about a product or item that you can't live without as a parent The ExerSaucer is great for me. I can plop her down, not have to worry about her and spend some quality "me" time for a good half hour or so.
Your Perfect Day: Once a week I have my "Daddy Day" where I take Izzy with me to the office, the mall, or to a fun place. I'm very lucky to have that day during the week to put down the normal duties of my job and work on keeping her active and entertained.
Other:[Business Owners] What motivated you to start your business? I started www.EastofNYC.com because we had just moved to the island from the city and we had no idea where to go. We established the site to create an online guide for those that shop, dine and play here to enable the masses to know what's going on.
[Business Owners] What is the hardest part about owning your own business? The hardest part is to make sure that your objectives are what's best for the company. There's a point where you get short-sighted and the goals in your head might not be the best for the long-term longevity of the company. It helps to have other individuals that can be objective and that you can bounce your ideas off of.
Each month we feature a dad making a difference in our community. We want to acknowledge working dads and stay at home dads. Suggest a dad by emailing us
Past profiled dad...
