Staff Report

Gov. Bob Riley presented Auburn’s Miss Homecoming 2004 during festivities at last Saturday’s game, and she has a Greenville connection.

Lindsay Johnson, a senior in public relations, was nominated by her sorority, Alpha Delta Pi. She was chosen to be one of the top five finalists for the honored position and was announced as the winner on Saturday.

When the announcement was made, Riley presented Johnson with a silver bowl, an Auburn tradition.

She is a member of the SGA, where she is secretary of campus projects, and was a Camp War Eagle counselor. She is a past student director of Freshman Forum.

&uot;The nomination is very humbling,&uot; Johnson said before the announcement. &uot;I’m really excited and grateful for the opportunity.&uot;

She is the daughter of Benny and Linda (Sanders) Johnson of Birmingham and is the granddaughter of the Nelda Sanders and the late Sheriff Joe Sanders.

Her father escorted her during the halftime festivities at Jordan-Hare Stadium.

Her sorority said she has left no part of Auburn untouched. Her platform was being a woman with a voice. She wrote in her platform letter:

&uot;Miss Homecoming is not unique to Auburn’s campus, but the honorable women who have been elected to this position are certainly jewels in Auburn’s crown.

It is a privilege to be considered in the company of such women, and to be nominated for the title of Miss Homecoming and have the chance to represent my university in that capacity is a dream come true.

I want my fellow students to know a little about me and what I believe in.

I do not just want to be a girl with a title, but desire to represent the deep traditions that homecoming symbolizes and the principles that I believe in.

I am &uot;the choice with the VOICE,&uot; and I want to be a Miss Homecoming that portrays all of our voices.

V is for Values.

In the midst of SACS issues, college football, and academic achievement, I feel that the Auburn family must maintain its high ideals of morality and integrity, because without honest men and women, Auburn is lost.

O is for Offering.

One thing that keeps me going in the stress of college life is offering myself to serve others and Auburn.

This attitude towards service is a contributing factor in what makes Auburn so unique-we bond as a student body to serve the Auburn community and each other.

Offering your time, talents, gifts, and service to the community is undoubtedly vital to Auburn’s success.

I is for Investing.

&uot;The best use of life is to invest it into something that will outlast life.&uot;

My favorite quote dictates my goal upon graduation: to have invested my time at Auburn into the younger men and women that will be the leaders of this university after I leave.

I place my trust in them to carry on every plan, every tradition, and every new idea I have seen put into action, and it is through taking time to invest in their lives that I gain comfort leaving Auburn in their hands.

C is for Commitment.

One thing I have learned throughout my life is to commit fully to the things in which I am involved.

This means commitment to my Lord, my family and friends, my studies, my extra-curricular activities, and of course, Auburn.

E is for Enjoyment.

Life is nothing if it does not include joy, happiness, and enjoyment.

Focusing on the journey and not the destination is what makes one’s college career memorable. While my journey has been filled with memories such as late nights in the dorm and rolling Toomer’s after a huge win, it is equally important to me to remember the friends with whom I enjoyed those times.

Miss Homecoming allows me to share my VOICE with all of you, and for this, I am tremendously grateful.

I love Auburn, love what it has given me, and love what it has made me.

Being Miss Homecoming would be such a honor, but beyond that, I find it honoring enough to be called an Auburn woman.&uot;