When It Comes to Juggling It All This Father Knows Best By Cindi Cook As a single father of two boys living on Long Island, the question lingers:  How do you balance the many demands of childrearing with a full work and volunteer life? Those in the Hamptons community know one single dad who seems to balance both dynamics well: Michael Wudyka. A Hamptons resident for over 11 years, Wudyka has firmly installed himself in the Southampton community in countless ways. Besides being the father to sons Tucker, 17, and Wyatt, 15, he’s the owner of five Enclave Inn hotels and the East Hampton Studio; co-owner of Regulars Music Café; host of the show, "The Real Hamptons" on WVVH-TV (NY) Hamptons Television; partner in the sites GetInterns.com,

Iron-clad Work Ethic

Where does he find the time to still be a great parent? Wudyka says he sincerely likes being busy and loves his family; one doesn’t exclude the other. It’s something he learned as the son of working-class Polish and Lebanese parents who lived in inner-city Detroit and taught their four sons to work “at a very young age, from the time we could carry a piece of lumber or swing a hammer.”

Wudyka has carried this iron-clad work ethic into his ongoing role as a father. Though divorced, both of the boys’ parents are active in their lives. “We’re two parents who still care for each other and care about raising the children,” Wudyka says. “It hasn’t always been easy, but we both have one common goal: raising kids with a lot of love. When they’re young, the challenges seem more difficult, but really are much easier. You have more control. As they get older, you don’t have as much control. You hope all the things you taught help them stay out of harm’s way.”

Off-season Opportunities

Wudyka has been active as a coach for the past eight years for his two sons in baseball, basketball, soccer and football and is past vice president of the Parent Association. Meanwhile his community involvement includes past vice president of the Southampton Chamber of Commerce and past director of the Hamptons Visitor Council. He’s currently on the board of directors for the East End Chapter of the American Red Cross and on the advisory board of The Creative Coalition for the Library of Congress for the Arts in Washington, DC.

Wudyka came to Long Island for a business opportunity 11 years ago, purchasing his first Enclave Inn from Alexis and Martha Stewart; from then on, he knew it was where he would stay for good. Wudyka saw a business opportunity—especially one for the off-season—where one didn’t exist. He hasn’t looked back.

The Best Job

All this involvement has rubbed off on his sons. Tucker has already attended Suffolk Community College and will be a student at Santa Barbara City College this fall, followed by law school and a career as a Hollywood agent. Wyatt is a sophomore at Southampton High School and has his eye on Michigan State, perhaps eventually going into the hotel business like his father.

Family is everything to Wudyka, and his two boys are his life. “The most important thing I can do is be a good dad,” he says. “Parenting is the best job in the world.”

What advice would he give single dads—or all dads—this Father’s Day? “Give your children love, understanding, discipline, guidance, a good work ethic and opportunity,” says Wudyka, adding that his sons are his best teacher. “We laugh and love and fight, and explore so much—and are together as much as we can be.”

Like many parents though, Wudyka admits that it’s a guessing game at times, “this parenting thing. We do our best and hope.”

Cindi Cook is the founder of cccreative, a communications and editorial production company. She resides in New York City and weekends in Bridgehampton.