Tony Mendez, the real CIA agent from the 2013 Oscar winning movie “Argo” was the speaker at the Mountain Education Foundation annual fundraiser Thursday, September 7 at Signal Mountain Middle High School. Ben Affleck played him in the movie. Mendez and his wife, Jonna, also seated at the table, talked about how he helped save six American diplomats with Hollywood’s help during the Iran hostage crisis in 1979, and about the importance of the arts in public schools. (David Laprad)