Red Steagall Receives Western Lifestyle Programming Award From National Cowboy Museum In Oklahoma
Red Steagall was presented with the Western Lifestyle Programming award for his television show on RFD, “Red Steagall is Somewhere West of Wall Street,” a West of Wall Street Film Company, LLC production, by the National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum in Oklahoma City.
The award honors Steagall’s legacy for his work in television as he continues to spread the word about the western culture that exists throughout this great country.
“I wish I could explain to you folks what this honor means to me, but I can’t put it into words,” Steagall said as he took to the podium after the award was announced. “We like to say this awards show is our Oscars – the biggest honor we can receive for the work we do to preserve and perpetuate the image of the west in our lifestyle.
“The things we do each year to receive is to work a little harder than we did the last year, because there are others who are working toward the same award. That makes all of us who are creative, work harder to better present what we love the most to the most people, in the most professional, entertaining and educational manner. It makes us do our dead level best to be the best we can possibly be. If we don’t win, we still are proud of what we do. This is a tremendous pat on the back from you folks and we appreciate it because we love what we do.”
Steagall went on to thank his team of people who work with him, because “You don’t do this by yourself, you have a support team.” He credited his wife of nearly 40 years, Gail, along with his assistant, Debbie Bowman. He thanked the executive producer of “Red Steagall is Somewhere West of Wall Street,” Greg Brown, who he credited with preserving the western lifestyle through is magazine, “Cowboys & Indians.”
Others on Steagall’s team include two camera men, Gary Reynolds and Jody Duggan. Of his script writer, Jim Jennings, Steagall said, “I have never worked with anybody who is as talented in that area as Jim. He writes the best scripts.”
Steagall also thanked his family, and added, “I say thanks to everybody, and I thank the Lord for letting me be a part of this unbelievable institution. I love this National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum.”
All award recipients receive The Wrangler, a bronze sculpture of a cowboy on horseback representing an iconic symbol of American West determination, persistence, and pride.
The name for Steagall’s show came from a sculpture created by award winning western artist Bruce Greene, and depicts a rancher reading his daily “Wall Street Journal,” with his trusty cow dog by his side. Steagall was so taken with the piece that he felt it defined his new series, based on the places he would take his viewers through the new show as he rides the highways and byways, exploring some of the most interesting historic landmarks and trailblazers of the West. Among those iconic stops have been the 6666s Ranch, Pitchfork Ranch, Waggoner Ranch, JA Ranch, King Ranch as well as museums and other stops that perpetuate the image and lifestyle of the American Cowboy.
Other stops include the National Ranching Heritage Center on the Texas Tech University campus in Lubbock, Texas; the Texas and Southwestern Cattle Raisers Association and Museum in Fort Worth; the National Cowgirl Hall of Fame and Museum in Fort Worth. He also plans to educate the audience on how to make a Cactus rope, a Cactus saddle and the intricacies of how a Resistol hat is made. The show also includes interviews with world-famous rodeo cowboys, old time ranchers and cowboys from the 1940s and 1950s.