Raising the Conservative Voice and Vision
The Tennessee Eagle Forum represents the Tennessee Chapter of the national Eagle Forum organization founded by Phyllis Schlafly in 1972. Eagle Forum’s Mission is to enable conservative and pro-family men and women to participate in the process of self-government and public-policy making so that America will continue to be a land of individual liberty, respect for family integrity, public and private virtue, and private enterprise.
Eagle Forum’s achievements prove that citizen-volunteers can affect government policies in Congress, state legislatures, city councils and school boards; elect candidates at every level; and articulate conservative and pro-family policies through media.
Eagle Forum founder Phyllis Schlafly started the organization in 1972 and served as a pivotal voice in the conservative cause for over 40 years.
Bobbie Patray has been the President of the Tennessee Chapter of the Eagle Forum and lobbyist at the State Capitol since 1987.
Our Leadership | Bobbie Patray
Bobbie Patray was born in Goodlettsville, TN, in August of 1940. Her Dad, Charles Oakes, was a manager for McClellan’s Dime Stores who traveled around setting up and opening new stores, which meant that she lived in six states and sixteen towns before she started school. During those pre-school years she did some professional performing and stage plays.
When it was time to start school, Dad, Charles and Mother, Jill, moved the family back to Nashville where Bobbie attended the first grade. The following summer Charles took a job with Genesco and moved the family to Starke, Florida, where Bobbie attended elementary school. Junior high found the family in Richmond, Virginia, but high school saw a move back to Starke where Bobbie graduated from Bradford High School in 1957.
Future husband, Ron Patray, was a senior when Bobbie was a freshman at Bradford. When she was a senior, Ron returned from an overseas stint with the Air Force and they started dating. Bobbie attended one semester at Florida State University then returned to Starke where she and Ron were married February 28, 1959….
Our Foundation | The Tennessee Eagle Forum Foundation
The Tennessee Eagle Forum Foundation is the educational tool affiliated with the Tennessee Eagle Forum, providing a venue for workshops and conferences aimed at raising awareness and knowledge of critical issues in our country and our community. The Tennessee Eagle Forum Foundation exists to help families by providing educational information on local, state, and national public policy which impacts our communities, so they experience the freedom which comes from effective governing in our beloved state. The foundation hosts several events each year and brings in well-respected speakers and experts on a variety of vital issues.
Our Future | Student Eagles Program
Tennessee Student Eagles is an organization sponsored by Tennessee Eagle Forum comprised of like-minded teenage students who share conservative interests. This program trains teens to be knowledgeable, independent thinkers in order to face the current social and political environment. Student Eagles meet monthly to discuss an issue or current event. The students determine which topics to discuss in advance. They are expected to research as much as they can, then bring that information to share with other students in a robust discussion or debate. Topics from past meetings have included illegal immigration, national security, terrorism, the Equal Rights Amendment, and abortion.