Motivator, author to headline banquet

Journalist, media personality, entrepreneur and author Ray Sanders will be the keynote speaker for the 80^th annual Kingfisher Chamber of Commerce Banquet Saturday, Feb. 9.

The child of an unwed teenage mother, Sanders has been a lifelong survivor.

As a teenager himself, he was held at gunpoint, shot at and narrowly escaped being run over by a vehicle driven by his alcoholic father.

He chronicles his story of hardship, pain and eventual forgiveness and reconciliation in his book, The Prodigal Father – A Journey of 35 Miles in 35 Years.

As an adult, Sanders has worked as a CEO growing multimillion-dollar organizations, leading an award-winning financial institution, serving in a nonpartisan position in the U.S. Senate and pioneering international clean water initiatives.

He’s also served as editor-in-chief of a weekly news journal, host and producer of radio and TV programs and is co-founder of Coaching Leaders, an executive consulting firm, and Edify Leaders, a nonprofit organization dedicated to inspiring leaders who use their influence for the greater good.

The organization is best known for coaching church ministers at no cost.

Sanders and his wife Stephanie have six children and six grandchildren.

Kingfisher’s Citizen of the Year and Volunteer of the Year also will be recognized at the banquet. Nominations currently are being accepted at the chamber office.