Flair guest editors speak candidly about the influence of fathers during discussions for our special International Women's Day edition. From left: Nashauna Drummond, Acting Lifestyle Co-ordinator, Audrey Marks - Paymaster Jamaica Limited; Jean Lowrie-Chin - PROComm; Sara Lawrence - reigning Miss Jamaica World; Barbara Ellington, Lifestyle Editor; Carmen Tipling - Jamaica National Building Society; Audrey Hinchcliffe - Manpower and Maintenance Services, and Yvonne Grinam-Nicholson - ROCommunications (Jamaica). The discussions took place at the Gleaner Company, North Street, Kingston, on Tuesday, February 20. - Winston Sill/Freelance Photographer

Yvonne Grinam-Nicholson

My father is a quiet introvert and a very hard worker. I think I got these aspects of my personality from him and this has contributed to how I have conducted myself in business and my life. Not a lot of fanfare for myself, but a whole lot of hard work behind the scene. My father and I are exclusive members of our mutual admiration club and even though we do not correspond as much now as we should, I know he is pleased and proud of what I have, so far, done with my life.

Jean Lowrie-Chin

Regardless of our academic achievements, most of us ladies in business agree that our nurturing homes gave us the confidence to launch out. As we exchanged stories, we acknowledged our strong mothers and found that we also had very good fathers who were supportive of our goals. I believe that the affirmation of a loving father in those impressionable early years, goes a long way to boost self-esteem in a girl.

My second father, Joscelyn Lowrie, was a brave man, marrying my widowed mother with four small children. He threw himself into the role with a gusto that I have rarely seen in biological fathers. Every Saturday was library day, and after we carefully selected our books, we would be taken to the old Oxford Pharmacy for ice cream - how sweet we found reading!

Our school reports were filed with military precision (he was an ex-RAF man) and he would use these to track our progress, or lack thereof. The only two times I was punished by dad was for borrowing playthings. This goodly accountant measured out the slaps, four in each hand, and forever made me allergic to borrowing.

It was from dad that we learned good office practice. He refused to put his signature on any letter that was smudged by an eraser. His files had to be orderly, every sheet of paper punched so that the pages were edge to edge.

He became confined to a wheelchair and continued to work at home, still supporting his family until his death in '77. From him, I learned the value of character over comfort.

Audrey Marks

My early recollection of my dad involves my efforts to get my 'fair share' of attention with six siblings at home and various other members of our wider family visiting for extended periods. Because I started boarding at age 10, spending time with family during holidays was very valuable for me.

It was only after high school and university, as a young adult, when most persons are getting independent of their parents, that I really got the opportunity to bond with my father on a more personal basis. For this time, I am eternally grateful, because he was with me when I started my various business ventures. He gave consistent support and encouragement, even in the midst of some of my 'real dud' ventures. His death in 2004 left me with a feeling of indescribable loss, but his spirit of love and quiet approval is always with me.

Sara Lawrence

Simply said, I could have done NOTHING without my father's guidance, support and love. Firstly my father has been influential from even before he was my father as he was wise in choosing my mother - a strong, caring, loving, woman of God - as a spouse. My sister and I could not have asked for better parents. I heard once that the measure of a man is how well he takes care of his children, that being the case, my father is the epitome of a true man in my eyes.

No matter what we went through as a family, or whatever situation we faced, his response (though not always favourable at the time), was out of pure unconditional LOVE. My father is patient, he is kind, he does not envy, he does not boast, he is not proud. My father is not rude, he definitely is not self-seeking, and he keeps no records of wrongs. My father always protects, always trusts, always hopes, and always perseveres.

The love of my father is what drives me daily and even when the glitz and the glamour fade away and negative people have things to say, I will always hold my head high because while the things of the world are transient, the LOVE and Support of my father never fails.

Audrey Hinchcliffe

Arthur Theophilus Stewart hailed from Lorrimers, Trelawny. He was a man of impeccable integrity, highly disciplined and organised. He lived by the credo "early to bed and early to rise". He started each day with family prayer at the dining table and throughout the day, when challenging situations arose, he always had a bible verse to match the situation. I don't only look like him, but I emulate his values which have contributed greatly to my stability and success.

Carmen Tipling

My father, Eric James Lyons, was a stern man, a disciplinarian who believed that children should do two things - go to school and church. My mother, Gertrude, was the one to provide the balancing act in our household, by encouraging me, my two brothers and three sisters to "be what we wanted to be."

While my father was not a very expressive man, he taught us by example. He was honest. He worked hard. He respected other people and their ideas. He helped other people. He read a lot - and saw books as a "passport to places that you may never reach."

It was also obvious that he revelled in the academic achievements of his children. Whenever one of us passed an examination, and our name was printed in The Gleaner, he would underline it and walk around with the page for days, to ensure that everyone else saw it.

I also remember my father as being an "experimenter. he was gainfully employed, he was always willing to "try to do something else." He saw himself as a shoemaker; bought the tools, and fixed our shoes. He also tried to be a fisherman and a carpenter - and he even developed kite-making skills, much to the delight of my brother and his friends for whom he made huge kites one summer. Of course, there were many other experiments that were not as successful.

Indeed, my father was a simple man, who gave generously of himself and what he had.

We live in a society where mothers are the main caregivers in the family. More often than not, father is either a figment of the imagination or someone who visits sporadically and offers very little financial or moral support. Our team of guest editors spoke volumes about the positive influence of their fathers , the values they passed on and how this influence have helped to shape the women they have become.