Big Brother gives gift of nature
By Michelle Knight knight@theacorn.com

IRIS SMOOT/Acorn Newspapers BIG BROTHER- John Hodak, who was selected California Big Brother of the Year, with his wife, Anna.

John Hodak is the best big brother in California- so says Big Brothers Big Sisters of America.

The national youth mentoring organization selected the Agoura Hills resident out of 23 nominees across the state as California Big Brother of the Year and will honor him at a regional conference in San Francisco next month.

Anna Hodak said helping boys make good choices in life is something her husband of 41 years feels impelled to do.

"I'm excited for him because he has . . . worked hard with the kids," Anna Hodak said. "He relates to kids very well, and he likes to play."

John Hodak signed on with the Big Brothers Big Sisters of Ventura County 22 years ago with the blessing of Anna and their son, an adolescent at the time who was discovering that girls were more interesting than camping.

Since then, Hodak has mentored five boys.

"I do it because I think it's a good thing to do," Hodak, 63, said. "I get something out of it, and I hope the kids get something out of it, too."

He said he wants his little brothers to enjoy their childhood as he did, growing up in the Pennsylvania countryside.

Hodak remembers days full of fishing, hiking and camping, activities that are among his favorite to do with his little brothers.

Over the years he's taken the boys on weekend camping trips, taught them how to build a fire, bait a fishing hook and call out "low bridge" when casting their line. In the meantime, he's taught them to be respectful and considerate of others.

As the need for male mentors grew in Ventura County, Hodak began mentoring two "littles" at one time. It's meant driving from Agoura Hills to Newbury Park to pick up Nick and to Oxnard for Eugene on the weekends.

"The kids needed a big brother, and I didn't care how far I had to drive," Hodak said.

He said the two teenagers are good friends, and the three of them enjoy a movie, bike riding, playing football on the beach or taking camping trips together.

Hodak mentored Nick for 10 years and watched as the boy's selfconfidence grew. Nick graduated from high school in June, won a scholarship and will attend Ventura College in the fall.

Although Nick will turn 18 in November and age-out of the big brothers program, Hodak expects to stay in touch with him as he has done with some of his former "littles."

But Eugene has been the most challenging to mentor, Hodak said. Big Brothers executive director Lynne West asked Hodak to mentor the then 14-year-old in 2003 when the program was expanded to include children living at Casa Pacifica, a residential therapeutic treatment facility in Camarillo for abused, neglected and severely emotionally disturbed children.

Eugene was taken from his parents at age 5 and saw his two older siblings adopted while he stayed behind. West said she asked Hodak because she knew he would mentor the boy until he learned to trust adults.

"John is an amazing man," West said. "Without even hesitating he said 'yes.' That's the kind of man John is."

Eugene missed their first two appointments, causing Hodak to wonder if he was interested in being a little brother. But the boy's psychologist said he was testing Hodak to see if he would abandon him like other adults had done.

Hodak persevered and gradually saw Eugene's behavior improve to point that he recently was placed in a foster home.

But the odds are stacked against former foster care youth. Of the 4,000 California teenagers who age out of the foster care system each year most become homeless and unemployed, according to a child advocacy group. Less than 3 percent attend college, and many become involved in gangs and with drugs.

So Hodak works especially hard at building up Eugene's selfesteem and confidence, he said.

Hodak said he hopes other men will step forward to become a big brother to the 100 or so boys on the organization's waiting list. "I'll keep doing it," Hodak said. "It's one of those things that keep me on my toes, keeps me young."

For more information on the Big Brothers Big Sisters of Ventura County program, call (805) 484-2282.