Speaker Biographies

The Honorable Fred Thompson
United States Senator from Tennessee, 1994-2002
Senator Fred Thompson’s life has been marked not only by recognizing opportunity when it arose, but by answering the call to public service and leadership. His dedication to law and passion for the principles that laid America’s foundation led him to serve for eight years as a Senator from Tennessee and to his recent presidential campaign.

Elected to the United States Senate in 1994, his independent approach to campaigning and refusal to play by the establishment’s political rules became legendary. Two years later, the people of Tennessee returned him to office with more votes than any candidate for any office in the state’s history at that time. Senator Thompson focused on lowering taxes, strengthening national security, and cutting wasteful government spending.

Prior to his election, Thompson maintained law offices in Nashville and Washington. He also served as an Assistant United States Attorney in Tennessee. In 1973, Thompson was appointed to serve as Minority Counsel to the Senate Watergate Committee, where he gained national attention for leading the line of inquiry that revealed the audio-taping system in the Oval Office.

Since Senator Thompson first portrayed himself on screen in 1985, he has appeared in numerous movies and television programs. He became known for his portrayal of New York District Attorney Arthur Branch on the Emmy Award-winning Law & Order. He currently hosts The Fred Thompson Show with his wife Jeri, a daily radio talk show produced by Westwood One. Whether it's on the radio, online blog posts or TV appearances, Senator Thompson has viewed the issues of the day through the “first principles” he has stressed throughout his career.

A native of Lawrenceburg, Tennessee, Senator Thompson earned an undergraduate degree in philosophy and political science from Memphis State University and a law degree from Vanderbilt University. He authored the recent bestseller Teaching the Pig to Dance.
 

Sean and Leigh Anne Tuohy
The Real Heroes That Inspired the Bestselling Book and Blockbuster film
The Blind Side 

The Blind Side tells the story of Michael Oher, a homeless teenager turned first round draft pick NFL football player, with the support and love of an unlikely adoptive family: the Tuohys.

Sean Tuohy, Michael’s adoptive father, knew what it meant to be the poor kid in a private school — he had been one himself. Raised in New Orleans, Sean was a record-breaking basketball player at the University of Mississippi. Tuohy is a legend in the SEC hall of fame for leading the Ole
Miss Rebels to their first and only championship. He became a successful
entrepreneur, building a company that now owns and operates 70 fast food restaurants, and is in his ninth season as a broadcaster for the NBA’s Memphis Grizzlies. In addition to his business, broadcasting, school and church schedules, Sean is heavily involved in supporting several minority students at Briarcrest Christian School.
  Leigh Anne, the inspirational matriarch of the Tuohy family, is a native of Memphis. She attended Briarcrest Christian School and went on to graduate from the University of Mississippi with a Bachelor of Science in Interior Design. Leigh Anne owns "Flair I," an interior design firm with her mother and partner, Virginia Roberts. Her work has been featured on HGTV, in numerous publications and she has designed for such clients as Peyton Manning and Scottie Pippen.

College sweethearts Sean and Leigh Anne have been married for 27 years. In addition to son Michael Oher, they are the proud parents of daughter Collins and son Sean, Jr. The Tuohys are actively involved in many civic and faith-based organizations, including Grace Evangelical Church, of which they are founding members. Their family life, as chronicled in The Blind Side, went on to become a Hollywood blockbuster that earned more than $140 million at the box office, became the number-one opening weekend for a sports film in history and earned two Oscar nominations, including Best Picture.