Warren Butler treasures his heritage and the traditions that have been handed down over time.

There is a heritage of the outdoor life and working cattle that Butler traces back to the Chisholm Trail with a great grandfather who died breaking horses for the Buffalo Soldiers at a place called Fleetwood.

There is a tradition in education, passed down by his father and attributed to his grandparents.

“They were both businesspeople, ranchers and it was a big thing for us to get an education,” he said.

There is also a tradition in coaching.

Earlier this month, Butler was inducted into the Oklahoma Powerlifting Coaches Association, joining his father Dale Butler, who is considered one of the legends of Oklahoma power lifting.

“It is an honor, it does not matter if it is coaches, whether it is track, whether it is powerlifting,” he said. “One of the biggest honors, my dad was the first. We are the only father-son inducted. So that is a huge privilege.”

Butler said his father coached everywhere, ending his career in Fox, where he coached Michael Benson, who still holds the squat record of 730 pounds.

“My dad was actually one of the originals,” Butler said. “They started in 1978, and he was one of the originals. The state powerlifting meet was an open meet in 1979, and I was a sixth grader, and I shuffled weight all night long. Four racks, we have come a long way. Now we run 11 racks and divide it up. We have junior high and everything.”

The younger Butler has played a significant role in the development of powerlifting for girls. He started girls powerlifting while at Temple in 2016.

“I believe in 2019, we started the girl’s association, which was the first in Oklahoma,” he said. “Now we are running two regions in the girls, and I have stepped back. I don’t believe anything should be run by one person. I think it needs to be ruled by the body.”

During his career in education, Butler has been a football coach, athletic director and a principal. He is the head boys track coach at Plainview and also coaches football as an assistant.

Butler said the impact on kids has been the best part of being an educator. He talked about a kid that he coached in Salina. The kid was not that good of an athlete but worked hard to get on the field and didn’t play until he was a senior. He caught a ball during a game and headed toward the end zone. Rather than score, his athlete fell back and broke both wrists.

“The kid still calls me about once every three to four months just to let me know how he is doing,” Butler said. “That is my success right there. It is all about the kids and has nothing to do with us.”

Butler himself attended high school at Idabel, sporting the iconic “Boz” haircut while playing linebacker. He went on to play football at Southwestern Oklahoma State University while also riding a bull or two.

“I am a little more country than most,” he said.

Butler still runs a junior high powerlifting program at Plainview and has been involved in powerlifting as a lifter or a coach, basically, since 1979.

“I can tell you this, it is a privilege and an honor to be able to do this,” he said. “When you get up and go to work every day, and it’s not a job. You get up in the morning and you know this is what you are supposed to do.”