Oprah’s Man Gets Everybody Motivated

Stedman Graham, the writer and motivational speaker who may be better known for his “spiritual union” with media mogul Oprah Winfrey, got folks all fired up today at the 2008 Family Gateway Luncheon at the Hilton Anatole. The emcee was Belo8 chief meteorologist Pete Delkus, and attendees included the likes of the Dallas Cowboys’ Gene Jones and Laurie (Mrs. Wade) Phillips, who must have drawn the short straw and wound up sitting next to me. Jump to see how many ways I embarrassed myself with her.

If you’d sat next to Mrs. Phillips, an extremely kind and gracious woman, the first words out of your mouth probably wouldn’t have been, “Gee, I have no idea what it must be like to be married to a coach in the National Football League.” Those were mine, though, and–after coughing politely into her napkin–Mrs. Phillips proceeded to talk about her Cajun upbringing, getting adjusted to Dallas and how even though Wade’s laid back, he’s still passionate about the Cowboys.

The luncheon was presented by Dallas-based PlainsCapital Bank, and honorary co-chairs Lee Ann and Alan B. White (he’s Plains’ top dog) were witty and generous hosts. After Delkus introduced Alan, the Lubbock-reared banker said from the podium, “That’s really great, Pete. If some of your weather forecasts were that good, we’d be all right.”

Graham, for his part, delivered a stem-winding keynoter worthy of a preacher, exhorting us all to “make it happen” with his nine-step plan for success. The steps–I swear he only had eight of them, but I may have missed one–included having a vision, having a plan, overcoming your fears, and building your dream team.

Delkus took the podium again after Graham had finished and summed it all up. “Inspiring,” Pete said. “Motivational.”