The Vidalia Christmas Parade is this Saturday morning, and in addition to the floats, bands, marchers and that Jolly Ol’ Elf, this year’s parade will have another special guest.
In 2022, Vidalia Mayor Doug Roper met Gideon, a young man from Uganda, who has ties to the Waller family in Vidalia. Olivia, the local family’s niece, was associated with the Ekisa Ministries in Uganda.
“Gideon, who now goes by the name Gideon Inman, has sickle cell anemia,” Mayor Roper said. “His biological family did the best they could for him, but eventually, had to seek other arrangements and he went to live at the Ekisa Ministries and where he and Olivia formed their unique bond. In fact, it was so special that Gideon was flying from Uganda to be a groomsman in Olivia’s wedding.”
When the plane landed in the U.S., it was discovered that Gideon had a brain bleed and was rushed into surgery. Another surgery was warranted to stop the bleeding, and Gideon lost his eyesight as a result.
“He calls himself ‘Gideon of Good Cheer,’” Mayor Roper said. “He just a delightful young man and from the first day we met, he and I had a special connection.”
When Gideon heard about the devastation left by Hurricane Helene, he created a video and sent it to Mayor Roper offering encouragement and words of compassion for what Vidalia and its residents were enduring.
“When he was here in 2022, I had given him one of my ‘Roper for Mayor’ T-shirts,” Mayor Roper continued telling the story. “When he went back to Uganda, he told people he was my Mayor Pro Tem and I got to thinking, ‘What can I do to show him how special he is and so I decided to make him an Honorary Mayor For The Day and have him ride with me in our Christmas Parade.”
Gideon is expected to arrive from Uganda on Friday where Mayor Roper and his family will meet with him and present him with a Proclamation declaring him the “Mayor.”
“He’s just such a role model, and if we could just see things on the bright side of life as he does, this would be a much better world,” Mayor Roper concluded.
