Inspire History

YOUR LEADERSHIP AND LEGACY By Warren Martin
"Everyman can lead, because every man can serve his fellow man." - Martin Luther King, Jr.
Leadership. Patriotism. Service. It's not just our motto; it's our passion. Investing in the next generation of leaders is also our legacy - YOUR legacy.

I'm often asked, "Why Hobart?" My response: There is no better place! Small town values helped shape the life and leadership of General Franks. They have also shaped my life. In fact, Hobart is the largest town my family has ever called home. When you look at our world today, I find that those values we cherish (common sense, integrity, compassion, honesty, etc.) tend to be absent from the political discourse of the day. Yet, they are not absent from our community. What better way to highlight the values we hold dear than by focusing the spotlight on a community that upholds them?

As I have talked with many who support our endeavors it has become obvious to me that some of you do not fully understand the extensive impact you are making in the lives of others. I commonly hear our organization referred to as "The General Franks Museum." Make no mistake, we have a wonderful museum. We are constantly growing and adding new exhibits. This year we will add a new exhibit room, new unique artifacts you will not be able to see anywhere else and a new exhibit in Midland, TX that will allow us to extend our reach and focus more eyes on Hobart, OK. However, we are much more than a museum.

Character, Communication, Common Vision and Caring are General Franks' Four Stars of Leadership. We have partnered with Cameron University's School of Business to develop the Inspired Leadership Experience. INSPIRED by the life and LEADERSHIP principles of General Tommy Franks and communicated in an engaging and interactive format that will inspire you to discover your leadership potential.

Over the past year, our organization has had the opportunity of leading our Four Star Leadership camp, twenty-seven leadership presentations in public schools, a number of seminars for businesses and the top commanders at two US military bases. We have had the extraordinary opportunity to invest in the leaders of today and (more importantly) the leaders of tomorrow. We have invested in hundreds of high school and college students. We have shared with them the leadership principles found in General Tommy Franks' legacy. However, this investment in the next generation of leaders is not just the legacy of the General, it is also your legacy.

Your tremendous support, including time and resources, has enabled us to make this investment. It would not be possible without you. Your investment in The General Tommy Franks Leadership Institute and Museum is an investment in our future as a community and nation. We have filled the Stanley Building, numerous times with groups from the region desiring leadership training. It is helping to establish Hobart's prominence as the place to go in Oklahoma for leadership training. Our goal is to continue developing until Hobart has a national and international presence in the field of leadership.

The purpose of this article is simply to say thank you for enabling us to invest in the lives of others. Your investment is changing lives. Here are just two comments from among the many of letters we have received over the past year: "'Inspired Leadership' was the perfect message for my leaders to take back to their units." - Colonel Krawietz, Commander Altus AFB "That event was the greatest event of my life, as I was strengthened and encouraged and built more into the type of leader- and more important, the type of man-that I wish to be."

Cody Milner, high school student.

This is part of YOUR legacy. Thank you!