MIDDLEBURG – Tommie Broach is the founder of five schools dedicated to helping disabled students in need, and a diagnosis of ALS won’t keep her from delivering continued messages of positivity.

Broach has always been a positive person. Grace and her faith in the love of God have been her driving force and while an ALS diagnosis certainly presented new challenges in her life. It didn't’ stop her from doing what she loved: helping others. Sometimes that help is in the form of starting a school specialized for individuals in need. Other times it’s about making someone smile.

“Just because you have a diagnosis, doesn’t mean your purpose is over,” Broach’s sister, Deborah said. “She’s finding purpose in the midst of this diagnosis to still reach out and touch people’s lives. That's a real inspiration to people that are shut in or that have whatever diagnosis...God determines our days, not a diagnosis.”

Broach started The Broach School in 1973. After seeing firsthand how students with disabilities or other circumstances that make education more difficult were often allowed to slip through the cracks, Broach decided to move back to Florida and start a school for students that education would otherwise forget. Broach’s master’s degree from Columbia University in New York and doctorate from the University of Florida helped her navigate the waterways of this new style of school and today, the school now consists of five different campuses.

Broach is still the CEO of the school and helps make major decisions with the board but around 10 years ago, she started down another path that had been calling to her: God.

Broach has always lived a life of faith but around 10 years ago, she decided that she wanted to do more. That led to her becoming a pastor at High Point Community Church and then a part-time pastor at Advent Lutheran Church.

“Faith. Not just a faith that you bring out with the good china at Christmas and Easter. Faith that is built over time. Faith that has seen tragedies, experiences loss, the ups and downs of life knowing God will get you through this,” Broach said of how she was able to lead the life she’s led.

Be it coincidence or something to do with Broach’s faith, her children followed in her footsteps. Her son, David, was born blind and ended up learning for a year at the Broach school.

“My mom used to say, ‘Special-need kids require special needs parents,’ and I was so blessed to have a mom like her,” David said. “When you’re a kid, it’s hard to vocalize what makes your experience in life different for you and naturally, we go through different challenges in school. She understood what I needed and helped me get to where I am today.”

David is the executive director of the Florida Commission for the Transportation Disadvantaged where he works with state departments to advocate for people with disabilities.

Broach’s daughter, Lauren, lives in California and works with Hispanic children to help them, much in the same way Broach’s life has been dedicated to helping those with disabilities. Lauren recently adopted a Hispanic child but because of COVID-19, hasn’t been able to fly to Florida. So Broach has been visiting her new grandchild virtually through FaceTime.

“The apple didn’t fall far from the tree, did it?” Deborah said.

Broach was diagnosed with ALS last year, but symptoms were apparent before that. ALS is naturally a debilitating disease, but it hasn’t stopped Broach from being positive. Broach shares words of inspiration and scripture on Facebook every day and holds a weekly Bible study every Wednesday morning. She works with another person that speaks on her behalf to hold a Wednesday evening Bible study as well.

Like Deborah said, Broach still has a purpose and her ALS diagnosis doesn’t change that.

“I get up every day and get dressed,” Broach said. “I try to do something for someone else, be pleasant, smile, send a card, text them or even pray for them. There’s always something that can be done.”

David said it’s been tough hearing his mom’s voice deteriorate because it’s always been her most powerful tool but today she speaks all the same through a voice program on her iPad.

“We all have something that our identity is attached to and mom’s been a voice, largely,” David said. “Her ability to preach and give messages of hope...even though she’s not physically able to speak as well as she used to, she still has a voice and a means to communicate her message and I think that’s important.”

David, Deborah and Broach’s entire family know that ALS won’t stop her from being who she is: a continual fountain of positivity in hope. That’s what Broach has always been and always will be, Deborah said.

“I want people to smile,” the mother said.

By Wesley LeBlanc

wesley@opcfla.com

MIDDLEBURG – Tommie Broach is the founder of five schools dedicated to helping disabled students in need, and a diagnosis of ALS won’t keep her from delivering continued messages of positivity.

Broach has always been a positive person. Grace and her faith in the love of God have been her driving force and while an ALS diagnosis certainly presented new challenges in her life. It didn't’ stop her from doing what she loved: helping others. Sometimes that help is in the form of starting a school specialized for individuals in need. Other times it’s about making someone smile.

“Just because you have a diagnosis, doesn’t mean your purpose is over,” Broach’s sister, Deborah said. “She’s finding purpose in the midst of this diagnosis to still reach out and touch people’s lives. That's a real inspiration to people that are shut in or that have whatever diagnosis...God determines our days, not a diagnosis.”

Broach started The Broach School in 1973. After seeing firsthand how students with disabilities or other circumstances that make education more difficult were often allowed to slip through the cracks, Broach decided to move back to Florida and start a school for students that education would otherwise forget. Broach’s master’s degree from Columbia University in New York and doctorate from the University of Florida helped her navigate the waterways of this new style of school and today, the school now consists of five different campuses.

Broach is still the CEO of the school and helps make major decisions with the board but around 10 years ago, she started down another path that had been calling to her: God.

Broach has always lived a life of faith but around 10 years ago, she decided that she wanted to do more. That led to her becoming a pastor at High Point Community Church and then a part-time pastor at Advent Lutheran Church.

“Faith. Not just a faith that you bring out with the good china at Christmas and Easter. Faith that is built over time. Faith that has seen tragedies, experiences loss, the ups and downs of life knowing God will get you through this,” Broach said of how she was able to lead the life she’s led.

Be it coincidence or something to do with Broach’s faith, her children followed in her footsteps. Her son, David, was born blind and ended up learning for a year at the Broach school.

“My mom used to say, ‘Special-need kids require special needs parents,’ and I was so blessed to have a mom like her,” David said. “When you’re a kid, it’s hard to vocalize what makes your experience in life different for you and naturally, we go through different challenges in school. She understood what I needed and helped me get to where I am today.”

David is the executive director of the Florida Commission for the Transportation Disadvantaged where he works with state departments to advocate for people with disabilities.

Broach’s daughter, Lauren, lives in California and works with Hispanic children to help them, much in the same way Broach’s life has been dedicated to helping those with disabilities. Lauren recently adopted a Hispanic child but because of COVID-19, hasn’t been able to fly to Florida. So Broach has been visiting her new grandchild virtually through FaceTime.

“The apple didn’t fall far from the tree, did it?” Deborah said.

Broach was diagnosed with ALS last year, but symptoms were apparent before that. ALS is naturally a debilitating disease, but it hasn’t stopped Broach from being positive. Broach shares words of inspiration and scripture on Facebook every day and holds a weekly Bible study every Wednesday morning. She works with another person that speaks on her behalf to hold a Wednesday evening Bible study as well.

Like Deborah said, Broach still has a purpose and her ALS diagnosis doesn’t change that.

“I get up every day and get dressed,” Broach said. “I try to do something for someone else, be pleasant, smile, send a card, text them or even pray for them. There’s always something that can be done.”

David said it’s been tough hearing his mom’s voice deteriorate because it’s always been her most powerful tool but today she speaks all the same through a voice program on her iPad.

“We all have something that our identity is attached to and mom’s been a voice, largely,” David said. “Her ability to preach and give messages of hope...even though she’s not physically able to speak as well as she used to, she still has a voice and a means to communicate her message and I think that’s important.”

David, Deborah and Broach’s entire family know that ALS won’t stop her from being who she is: a continual fountain of positivity in hope. That’s what Broach has always been and always will be, Deborah said.

“I want people to smile,” the mother said.