TIFTON — The Tift County Schools Board of Education recognized a group of TCS faculty and staff members responsible for making a student’s dream come true at the board’s most recent meeting.

The collection of teachers, administrators, and coaches were presented with Beyond the T Awards during the Sept. 12 board meeting for helping Sam Powell, a special education student of Eighth Street Middle School, achieve his dream of being on the Tift County Blue Devils.

At a recent Tift County Middle School football game, Powell put on a Blue Devils jersey, sat in with the team in the locker room before the game and during halftime, and got the chance to run a play after the game with the entire team cheering him on.

Paul Nelson, Eighth Street principal, later explained that Powell had always wanted to play on the football team, but was unable to. Pernell Bee, a paraprofessional at Eighth Street who worked with Powell, went to the middle school’s football coaches Andrew Cauthen and Hunter McAllister to make Powell’s dream a reality, which the coaches answered by going above and beyond to make him truly feel like a part of the team.

Nelson said that in addition to his appearance with the Blue Devils at that game, Powell has continued to participate in a variety of the team’s activities, such as weightlifting, and is treated as a true member of the lineup and a friend by many of the players.

Each of the people being recognized at the meeting helped make that dream possible for Powell, including Bee, who additionally helped train Powell in his football drills, Charly Pitts and Carrie MacDonald, Powell’s teachers, and Nelson, Cauthen, and McAllister for their work in making Powell’s wish come true.

Powell himself had the honor of handing out the awards to the staff and faculty who helped him achieve his dream, and afterwards was encouraged to show off some of the plays he had learned for those in attendance.