East Texas

By KELLY GOOCH
Staff Writer

BULLARD -- The Brook Hill School will dedicate for its new Kyle Lake Athletic Center on Friday.

The ceremony will begin at 5 p.m. outside the athletic center on campus, 22450 Farm-to-Market Road 2493.

Laurie Humphries, director of development, said four people will speak at the dedication.

Among the speakers are Lake's childhood friend, Michael Renner; his former youth director at Tyler's First Baptist Church, Steve Wilson; a close Lake family friend who serves on the Kyle Lake Foundation board, Deanna Sims; and Brook Hill founder Steve Dement.

A closing song and ribbon-cutting will be part of the festivities. After the dedication, the public can tour the athletic center, Ms. Humphries said.

She expects 200 people or more at the dedication, including Lake's immediate and extended family.

Lake has a history with Brook Hill that dates back to its beginnings.

Ms. Humphries said he led Brook Hill summer sports camps before the school opened in 1997.

Lake also was involved in Dement's Bible study prior to Brook Hill's founding.

"That Bible study was kind of the beginning of Brook Hill because the boys were praying about the future, and that's when Steve felt it on his heart to start the school," Ms. Humphries said.

Lake attended Baylor University and George W. Truett Theological Seminary in Waco. He also wrote two books: "Understanding God's Will" and "Reunderstanding Prayer: A Fresh Approach to Conversation with God."

Ms. Humphries said Lake died in 2005 at the age of 33 while he was serving as pastor of the University Baptist Church in Waco.

He is survived by his wife, Jen, his twin sons, Jude and Sutton, and his daughter, Avery.

Construction of the 25,000-square-foot facility started in October 2008 and took about a year to complete.

RPR Construction served as the contractor while Fitzpatrick-Butler Architects designed the project.

Ms. Humphries said the $3.2 million athletic center was funded through generous donations from Lake's family, Dement and numerous other donors.

Students in grades six through 12 will use the facility, and Brook Hill also is looking at opening the fitness equipment up to families, she said.

The facility features a cheerleading room, weight room, training room, circuit weight room, founder's suite, film room, laundry facilities, offices and two locker rooms.

Ms. Humphries said the athletic center was built, partly because the school added a football team in 2005 and enrollment grew rapidly.

Brook Hill opened with 31 students and now serves more than 500 students in pre-kindergarten through 12th grade.

At one point, the school had three or four students sharing a locker because of the growth, Ms. Humphries said.

Students are already using the locker rooms at the new athletic facility, but the school will not officially move in until Monday.

"This athletic center is going to tremendously enhance the entire athletic program. It's going to allow our student athletes to reach their full potential," Brook Hill Headmaster Rod Fletcher said. "Everybody's incredibly excited about what this new facility will mean to the school and the athletic program."