When Ryan Callahan was growing up in Rochester, N.Y., his father, Mike, had one message for him that transcended all the others.
“My dad instilled in me and my older brother, Mike, that no matter what you’re doing, whether it’s playing hockey, yard work, whatever it is, do it at your best because your name is on it,” Callahan, 33, remembered. “No one can take your hard work or your dedication from you. That’s something that’s in your control. That’s something I still hold close to me and try to follow and now try to pass on to my kids (Charlotte, 6, Evelyn, 3, and Dominick, 1).”
His father practiced what he preached. A project manager at Kodak for many years, he then jumped to another job before starting a lawn-care business so he could make more money to allow his sons to travel to different hockey tournaments. “He put in the time for us, that’s for sure,” Ryan stated.
The hard work paid off.
