From the desk of Jan Hommel, Museum Director:

There is a cartoon I have run across several times while thumbing through a magazine in a waiting room and it still makes me smile every time I see it. It is a picture of two young Eskimos that are ice fishing. The one on the right has cut his hole in the ice the size of a small manhole, has lowered his line in the water, and he sits calmly waiting for a bite. The one on the left has cut his hole in the ice, lowered his line in the water and also sits calmly waiting for a bite. But there is something different about the one on the left. You see, he has cut his hole in the ice the size of a crater and it stretches and reaches almost as far as the water does. And on top of that, he has cut his hole in the ice in the shape of a whale. So no matter what tugs or pulls on his line, he will be able to handle it and he will be able to pull it up through that opening. That’s what I like best about him, he is thinking big and he has a vision.

This is my family’s 10^th year at Brook Hill. As a parent of a 9^th grader and 6^th grader, I am so grateful that we have a founder in Steve Dement who was thinking big and had a vision when God called him and used him to start Brook Hill over 20 years ago. Because of that, we now have a headmaster who is thinking big and has a vision. We have an administration, we have principals, and we have an academic team who are thinking big and have a vision. But most importantly, you and I now have children who are thinking big and have a vision! I believe with all my heart that Brook Hill is preparing our kids academically, spiritually, physically and emotionally to be able to handle, embrace and conquer anything that life will bring their way. I believe that we will be able to watch them as they grow, mature and become adults, be able to pull things up through that massive opening of life, whether it’s an unbelievable accomplishment or a unexpected hardship, they will be ready and prepared because they are thinking big and have a vision for what is to come in the future.

Our goals in the American Freedom Museum are to HONOR our veterans and active military personnel for their courage and sacrifice, to EDUCATE this and future generations about America’s rich heritage, and to INSPIRE all of us to achieve great things with our lives like the men and women throughout our history have done. It is our desire as students from all over East Texas visit the Museum that we take them on a journey through history to learn of battles, victories and heroes that have made us the greatest nation in the world. It is also our goal to give them a vision of what America can be with them as leaders, because this is not just America’s story….it is also THEIR story.