They say it’s a small world, and in the story of TFAS supporter Roberta Winters, we have proof. Winters, a Wisconsin native and resident of Indiana, has been a supporter of TFAS since 2006, but her ties to the TFAS family go back much further.

According to Winters, one day while talking with TFAS President Roger Ream, she discovered that they were both originally from Wisconsin. She immediately started putting the pieces together and realized that his family may have had a pretty significant role in her life.

“I noticed that he had the same last name as the minister who married my husband and me 50 years ago, and it turned out to be Roger’s father!” she said.

Winters is a member of the Ben Franklin Club, which is comprised of supporters making monthly gifts to TFAS.  She is also a TFAS Legacy Society member, having included TFAS in her estate plan.

“I hope that in the future, thanks to TFAS, we will have a lot of people who can articulate a really good, clear message for conservative values,” said Winters.

According to Winters, the expansion of TFAS over the years and its new partnership with George Mason University is very exciting.

“I admire George Mason University a great deal, particularly because of Walter Williams. He has a great academic mind,” said Winters.

Additionally, Winters says she appreciates the work of TFAS in the field of journalism. “I’m so impressed by [TFAS alumnus] Stephen Hayes,” said Winters. “It’s really important to train journalists to write a fair, unbiased article. I read the strangest things that I know can’t be true, but people believe anything they read!”

I want the future to be a better place for my grandchildren. That is the fundamental reason I support TFAS.”

According to Winters, TFAS is important because it brings balance to academia. “I don’t mind if professors teach about liberal ideas as long as they also teach the conservative perspective,” said Winters. “I hear about students getting graded down for espousing conservative viewpoints.  If we are so intolerant, why are we the ones getting pies thrown in our faces at college campuses?”

Winters has been married to her husband, John, for 50 years. They have two daughters and three grandchildren. “I want the future to be a better place for my grandchildren,” said Winters.  “That is the fundamental reason I support TFAS.”