Family Reunion’s 2021 President’s Award Given to NPO’s Don Hubin

Earlier this month, I received an extremely pleasant surprise in the mail. I opened a small package, not knowing what was inside, and found that the Family Reunion organization has awarded me its 2021 President’s Award in “recognition of [my] diligent and tireless effort in bringing public awareness to the importance of shared parenting for the benefit of children and for your advocacy to achieve legislative changes.”

I’m flattered by being given this recognition, but I’m also very aware that this is really an award to National Parents Organization (NPO) for all of its terrific work. My efforts would have accomplished nothing without the NPO team of highly committed volunteers. Together, we have accomplished a great deal for the benefit of families. Ned Holstein, the Founding Chair Emeritus of NPO, created and fostered NPO as the largest and most effective equal shared parenting organization in the country and a leader in the campaign for shared parenting around the world. He led NPO for decades and organized and ran the most significant international conference on shared parenting research ever to take place, videos from which NPO has made available for free here. Matt Hale engineered the stunning NPO success in enacting Kentucky’s equal shared parenting law. Linda Reutzel has worked tirelessly to bring the benefits of a legal presumption of equal shared parenting to Missouri. And scores of NPO volunteers, chapter leaders and other volunteers, have worked to advance the cause of equal shared parenting in their states.

Our work is often challenging and sometimes frustratingly slow to achieve its goals. But, as I’ve been telling people recently, the winds of change are inconstant, but they blow in only one direction. Shared parenting will be the new norm for separated parents. It will be the new norm because parents, legislators, and courts come to realize that it’s best for children. And, NPO is playing a key role in accelerating the movement to this new, and better, norm for separated parenting.