By William Bowman, 

Bowman is the president of Visually Impaired Persons, Inc. (VIP).

On behalf of the V.I.P. Organization Inc. of Selma, I want to thank Auburn University for giving us the V.I.P. treatment while on a field trip for special needs children from Selma High School and Selma CHAT Academy on May 3.

The following organizations at Auburn came together to show us a good time and what the campus life was like: Auburn Best Buddies, The War Eagle Girls and Plainsmen, AU SGA and Tiger Host and Tigerettes. They were awesome hosts and hostesses. They showed us the true Auburn spirit.

I want to thank Lauren Swindle, a Selma native and president of Best Buddies at Auburn, and John Sasser, president of the Plainsmen hosts. They worked very hard to make this field trip special. They put in a lot of hours to make this field trip a huge success for the children and me. I really appreciate their help in making it all come together and rally around us and make us feel welcome. It took teamwork to get it done. It just shows you what you can do when a team works together for a common goal.

While in Auburn, the special needs children and I learned about what it was like to be loved and appreciated and accepted for what we are. This was a spiritual revolution for us all. It is OK to be different. You could feel God’s blessing upon this activity when we stepped off the bus at the Auburn Athletic Department. We saw true hospitality from the Auburn family.

Everyone who needed special help got it and was accommodated. We also got to be a part of the Auburn family for the day. From the time we got off the bus, to the time we boarded the bus to leave, we had an Auburn student with us guiding us all the way.

The day began with a tour of athletics. Former Auburn head coach Pat Dye gave us a welcome to Auburn and an inspirational message on having a good attitude and how it will take us a long way to being accepted and will help us overcome our disabilities and lead us to success.

Next, we were off to the new basketball arena, where we were treated to a pep rally and a Tiger Walk, complete with Auburn cheerleaders. We then toured the facility and gift shop and were then treated to a lunch fit for a king — or in this case a Tiger. Each child was then presented a gift back from Auburn University.

We then visited a disability center headed up by Scott Renner, a man who was in a wheelchair due to a neck injury. He gave the children a presentation on assistive technology and how he uses it to do his job at Auburn and how it makes him productive. He also told the children not to be afraid to talk to others with disabilities and to ask questions. He also told them about having a good sense of humor and a good attitude and how it will take them a long way in life.

Finally, we took a bus tour of the campus and saw where all kinds of great programs were going on and what kind of majors the children could choose if they attended Auburn. There was so much to see that you needed at least two days to see it all. The Auburn students were in the middle of final exams but took the time to show us a good time.

Thanks Auburn University for showing us a good time and what it is like to be accepted into a family of folks you do not know. Y’all are truly a special bunch of folks and will not be forgotten. We all learned there is more Auburn than just football and that there is a world outside of Selma and another place for us.

The field trip was sponsored by V.I.P. Organization, Inc., the Black Belt Foundation, Auburn University and Capital Trailways. These folks all worked together to make this event happen.

For information on V.I.P. or to make donations for future activities, call 354-4015.