Way to go, Pat!
Obligation’s Pat Ellis was honored by Phyllis Schlafly at the Eagle Forum Council XXX in St. Louis on September 22. She was recognized for outstanding leadership in exposing and removing commercial exploitation from public schools.
Mrs. Ellis has been fighting Channel One since 1994. No person has done more to free children from the onerous burden of sacrificing their school time to Channel One. Alabama schoolchildren and children from across the country owe a debt to Mrs. Ellis. The demise of Channel One will probably be traced back to a school board meeting in Jasper, Alabama. After being ignored by the school superintendent, Mrs. Ellis rallied business leaders, ministers and other citizens to jam the school board meeting. She collected hundreds of names of Jasper residents that wanted Channel One removed from their schools. The school board voted to end the contract. Channel One came into the classrooms, during the school day, and removed their TV sets. The rest is history.
Mrs. Ellis could have quit there, but she contacted Jim Metrock with Obligation in 1996 and began discussing Channel One. Mr. Metrock knew little about Channel One except that it had something to do with schools. After reading the information Mrs. Ellis had gathered on Channel One, Obligation made removing Channel One a major project.
Mrs. Ellis has given written testimony at the 1999 U. S. Senate hearing on Channel One. She has been on numerous radio shows talking about commercialism in schools. She has been quoted in major newspapers. In 1999, the New Republic called her the person that started the conservative backlash against Channel One.
Mrs. Ellis is the Education Director for Obligation.
