Ed Foreman

Early years

Foreman was born on a sweet potato and peanut farm near Portales in Roosevelt County in southeastern New Mexico to Edgar Foreman Sr., and the former Lillian Childress.

From 1952 to 1953, Foreman attended in Portales Eastern New Mexico University, then Eastern New Mexico College. He transferred to New Mexico State University in Las Cruces, where in 1955 he obtained a Bachelor of Science degree in civil engineering. From 1953 to 1956, Foreman was employed by Phillips Petroleum Company. From 1956 to 1957, he served in the United States Navy. He headed Foreman Brine Sales and Service in Odessa, Texas, from 1956 to 1962. He was formerly the president of Valley Transit Mix, Atlas Land Company, and Foreman Oil, Inc.

Represented West Texas, 1963–1965

In 1962, while he resided in Odessa, Foreman was elected to Congress from the 16th District in West Texas, which stretched from El Paso to the Permian Basin. His victory is attributed to the incumbent Democratic Representative J.T. Rutherford having been linked with the Billy Sol Estes scandal. In that same election, the Democrat, later Republican, John B. Connally, Jr., was elected governor over the Republican oilfield equipment executive Jack Cox.

Foreman was defeated when he sought re-election in 1964, a year in which President Lyndon B. Johnson, a Texan, was romping to reelection over Republican U.S. Senator Barry M. Goldwater of Arizona, and the Republicans suffered massive losses throughout the nation.

Represented southern New Mexico, 1969–1971

In 1968 while residing in Las Cruces, Foreman ran for Congress in the southern district of New Mexico and upset the two-term Democrat E.S. "Johnny" Walker of Albuquerque. Richard Nixon won New Mexico's electoral votes that year over Hubert H. Humphrey, and that Republican momentum helped Foreman to get elected. Foreman was unseated after a single term in 1970 by Democrat Harold Runnels.

Appointment to two federal jobs

After losing a House seat for the second time in six years, Foreman in 1971 was appointed assistant secretary of the interior in the Nixon administration and the following year, 1972, he was appointed to a position at the United States Department of Transportation where he stayed until 1976.

Motivational speaking

Foreman's motivational speaking is in the genre of Dr. Norman Vincent Peale, his personal mentor. Among his topics are "How to Make Every Day a Terrific Day!", "Making Quality Performance a Lifestyle" and "Acquiring The Basic Habit Patterns Of Winners."

Foreman's message as a motivational speaker is one of health, wealth, and happiness. He caters primarily to business leaders. He is credited to the phrase, "I'm alive, I'm alert, and I feel great!"

Philanthropy and personal life

On August 26, 1955, Foreman married the former Barbara Lynn Southard, and the couple has two children, Preston Kirk Foreman and Rebecca Lynn Foreman. In 1960, he was named the "Outstanding Young Man of Odessa." In 1962, he was named one of five "Outstanding Young Men of Texas." He was active in the Midcontinent Oil and Gas Association. Foreman is United Methodist. He is also affiliated with the Masonic lodge, Shriners, and Rotary International.

Foreman enjoys motorcycles, hot-air balloons, and international travel.

Early in 2006, Foreman and his brother, Harold "Chub" Foreman, also an NMSU graduate in engineering, donated $1.5 million to the School of Engineering at their alma mater.

Support of Kevin Trudeau

Foreman is an associate of Kevin Trudeau, a businessman notorious for his fraudulent infomercials and his disregard for the law. During Trudeau's sentencing to ten years in prison for fraud, Foreman repeatedly interrupted the court proceedings to announce to the judge that he's a former U.S. Congressman. After being told to stop interrupting Foreman went limp when he was finally physically removed from the courtroom and arrested. [1]