This post is part of our “Dads Making a Difference” series, spotlighting fathers who are an active part of the community and preventing teen substance abuse.

They say that any man has the ability to be a father, but it takes a special man to be called dad. Well, my dad, David Rule, is one of those special men. He grew up as the youngest of five brothers, so when he was blessed with three daughters, he didn’t quite know what he was getting himself into. But he needed no practice because he made a perfect dad. As I grew up, my dad would tell my sisters and I pink elephant stories at bed time and say goodnight with butterfly kisses. Every so often, he would pull me out of school to go on backpacking trips, just the two of us. When the boyfriends started to come around, he would have his talk with each and every one of them. He always had the perfect thing to say when hearts were broken with the typical high school drama. Good morals and healthy lifestyle often go underappreciated, but my father has taught me and my sisters both these things through his own example. When we got older, he made sure we talked about the harmful effects of drugs and alcohol as we went through our DARE and health education classes. He would talk to us about what we learned in those programs and made sure we understood the severity of using and abusing drugs and alcohol. He also told us that we always have a safe outlet by calling him. He always leads by example, never doing what he says we shouldn’t. In addition to being a great dad to my family, he has also been a wonderful father to the community. He serves as a co-chair of the Dublin A.C.T Coalition, an organization dedicated to preventing the abuse of alcohol, street drugs, and prescription drugs. Due to my dad’s efforts, our community now recognizes prescription drug abuse as a danger to many adults and teenagers. My father has also inspired me to be a part of the Dublin Youth Council. I get to see first-hand what my dad does for the community, and I am proud to say that I am his number one fan!