Spears to bring message of hope to FCA Banquet on Tuesday

Willie Spears' career as a coach and teacher started at an early age.
 "When I was about eight years old, my dad had me teach Sunday school classes because some of our Sunday school teachers didn't show up for class," Spears said.  "When that happened, I learned about the world a little bit more." 
Spears went on to a coaching and teaching career that spanned more than 20 years.
"I coached everything from Little League all the way to the college level," said Spears.
Spears will be bringing that knowledge and inspiration to the Comanche FCA Banquet on April 22 in the elementary school cafeteria at 7:30 p.m. Tickets are $10 at the door, or donations are also accepted.
He took theological classes in college and later got ordained to be a preacher through the Southern Baptist Convention and the Church of God in Christ. 
"I worked in a lot of churches and did a lot of faith-based speaking," Spears said.
The faith-based direction came naturally to the now 47-year-old.
"When I was a high school student, I was president of our Fellowship of Christian Athletes, and then when I was in college, I was also the president of the Fellowship of Christian Athletes," Spears said. "I ended up working for FCA. So, when coach (Jack) Francis called to speak at their Fellowship of Christian Athletes event, I was honored to do so."
Spears is no stranger to Oklahoma. He got his bachelor's degree from Northwestern Oklahoma State University in Alva.
"Oklahoma is a second home to me," the Florida native said. "I get back to Oklahoma often."
He received his master's degree from Troy University in Troy, Ala.
Spears has expanded his speaking from faith-based to include other areas, but the core message is still the same.
"The core message is hope is on the way," Spears said. "We consider ourselves a hope giver, like a hope dealer. We want to give hope. When I spoke with State Arm, Chick-fil-A, and McDonald's, it was a message of hope. I've spoken to football teams several times. We've gone to Florida State, Kentucky, and Clemson, and it's still a message of hope. When I speak to high school teams or schools or teachers or churches, it's still a message of hope."
On Tuesday night, Spears will also talk about what it means to be chosen. 
"These students are chosen to do great things in life, and if they tap into the Creator, they can realize the gift that God has put in them because they've been chosen," Spears said. 
The transition from teacher and coach to more of a speaker was a smooth one.
"I started speaking in church. My church used to put on oratorical contests and I would always win," Spears said. "When I got into education, administrators would ask me to come speak at their school, so I got speaking more that way. I was just doing it for something to do."
But he quickly became a victim of his success.
"I started losing money because I was traveling and speaking all the time," Spears said. "I didn't know how to run a business, so we got some people on our team to help us start a business."
Spears is also an author; his 20th book, "Fathers Matter," will come out on Father's Day. It has special meaning to him.
"My dad is going to be 75 years old on June 15, Father's Day, this year, and I don't believe we are going to have another 75 years with my dad," Spears said. "My dad and I have an amazing relationship. My dad is my best friend. I really, really love my dad, and I don't know what I'm going to do if he leaves the earth before I do."
The book is written in his father's honor.
"The first thought was to honor him and to give him his flowers while he can still smell them," Spears said. "We're going on a cruise on Father's Day. I turned down four speaking engagements to go on this cruise with my dad."
While it was a book to honor his father, it began to expand into other areas as he was writing it.
"I just thought about all these other things that fathers deal with," Spears said. "Mother's Day is the most celebrated holiday, and Father's Day doesn't get as much excitement as Mother's Day for whatever reason. And, what I believe is, mothers give birth, but fathers give life, and so you can't have one without the other."
He uses an analogy of the Kansas City Chiefs' center Creed Humphries and quarterback Patrick Mahomes. 
"Everybody knows about the mother, and we love mothers, but I just want us to realize that Patrick Maholmes cannot start a play without the center," Spears said. "If Creed doesn't snap him the ball, the play doesn't start. So yes, the quarterback is super important, but so is the center. So, "Fathers Matter" is a book to celebrate fathers and to remind fathers that they matter."
Spears said statistics prove the point.
"If you look in schools, children who misbehave the most are the children who don't have a father; people who commit the most crimes don't have an active father in their lives," Spears said. "I have a whole chapter in the book where it shows that having a father helps make a better person. And we want to work together. We're on the same team with the mom. My daughter wrote the foreword to the book, and it was very heart-wrenching. It brought me to tears."
For more information on Willie Spears, go to www.williespears.com.