Unsung Heroes of School Choice

On November 19, AF-Nashville partnered with the Beacon Center of Tennessee and the Vernon K. Krieble Foundation to host “Honoring Our Heroes,” a mixer to recognize individuals in Tennessee whose stories have inspired change.

At this annual event, we honor one standout — or “Unsung” — hero, a person who has gone above and beyond the call of duty to advance freedom in Tennessee. This year, we honored the Gaugh family for their work on school choice and the hours they put in to advance Tennessee’s new education savings account law. Throughout the legislative fight, Glen Gaugh, his wife Julie, and their sons Elisha and Jesse were a crucial part of showing Tennesseeans why school choice is necessary.

Glen has spent his entire life in Tennessee, and that is where he and Julie have chosen to raise their two boys. Glen is very active in his community and church. Because he has two children, Glen’s passion is education. He and Julie are just two of many parents who have had to make a difficult decision. Should they continue to send their children to a school system that was badly needing help, or should they make financial sacrifices to pursue an alternative path?

After talking it over with their eldest son Elisha, they opted to try the homeschool route. Since making that decision, Elisha is thriving in his education. He has the option at a very young age to take responsibility for his daily schedule, and he enjoys getting to spend more time with his family. Jesse, who is only in the third grade, remains at public school but hopes to be homeschooled with his brother one day.

But there’s a problem. The Gaugh family has already made so many financial sacrifices to educate Elisha at home that they might not have the resources to do the same with Jesse. For this reason, Glen chose to become involved this year with the Beacon Center and Beacon Impact in the fight to have education savings accounts implemented.

Through emails, calls, personal contacts, letters to the editor, and testimony in legislative committee, Glen was an integral part of the passage of this year’s education savings account bill, even though his hometown of Jackson, Tennessee, was carved out of the program and his family wouldn’t benefit from it. Glen is the definition of an Unsung Hero, and we were proud to honor him at this event.

Check out more highlights from the event over on Instagram!