AMERICUS — Celebration was in the air inside the Rylander Theatre on Sunday afternoon as former President Jimmy Carter escorted his wife Rosalynn into the theater for a celebration of his 85th birthday. The Rylander was filled to capacity with those wanting to catch a glimpse of the former president, and send him best wishes for his birthday (Oct. 1).

The celebration started off with the audience lending their voices in the singing of the National Anthem, before being welcomed to the event by Everett Byrd, a member of the Americus Theater and Cultural Arts Authority. Those gathered then were introduced to a performance from St. Genevieve High School’s dance teams and choir.

The choir performed a medley of hits that highlighted important years in Carter’s life. The choir celebrated Carter’s birth by performing "It Had to Be You," a song released in 1924, the year Carter was born. The choir also brilliantly performed “Midnight Train to Georgia,” “Georgia on My Mind” and “Rainy Night in Georgia."

The choir also dedicated one of Carter’s favorite songs "Wind Beneath My Wings," to his wife, former first lady Rosalynn Carter. Nearing the end of the song, the choir filed into the audience where each presented the former first lady with a rose.

After an intermission, pianist David Osborne took the stage, dazzling the audience with his playing and a few comedic costume changes. Osborne also played two songs on the theater’s organ, much to the crowd’s delight.

Both Osborne and the St. Genevieve choir had previously performed for President and Mrs. Carter. Osborne was a principal entertainer at Carter’s 75th birthday celebration, which was also the grand opening of the Rylander, and was also among the organizers of the event. Osborne has returned to Plains and Americus many times, especially to honor and perform for Carter on his birthday in past years.

Osborne concluded his set, donning his “Elton John personae,” and was joined by St. Genevieve’s and the audience as they sang “Happy Birthday” to the president.

Carter then took to the stage and gave some comments about the event. Carter thanked St. Genevieve’s for coming, saying “I know it’s hard to believe that these kids came from a high school and not directly from Broadway.” Carter also thanked Osborne, saying, “I am truly thankful that one of the greatest piano players in the world is one of my friends. He has blessed our church in Plains with music for so many years, including this morning, and if angels wanted to hear beautiful music they would come to Maranatha Baptist Church when David Osborne is playing.”

Carter thanked his wife, saying “I must admit that I got a little choked up when the choir sang ‘Wind Beneath my Wings’ because that’s what Rosalynn has been for me. I love her as much now as I did 63 years ago when I asked her to marry me for the first time and she said no.”

Carter also took an opportunity to share a story of where he grew up, telling how it was his neighbors who helped shape the man that he became. “The thing that makes me grateful is this community. As all of you know I came from a tiny town of about 600 people. I lived two and a half miles away from Plains in a place called Archery, and all my neighbors were African Americans. In a time when our entire nation was racially divided, they adopted me as one of them. They taught me some of the simple things in life. When I got to the end of one of my last books (“An Hour before Daylight”) I sat down and tried to think of the five people that had influenced me the most, (besides my mother and father). Out of those five, only two of them were white people. Out of that environment, which I entered when I was four years old, it has shaped my life. It shows that sometimes when we underestimate others, we find that they are equal to us in every possible way. Now our nation has realized those truths that I learned in my mother’s lap and with my neighbors in Archery, and that is one of the things that I am thankful for.”

Closing his remarks, Carter said, “There has never been another governor of any state, and there has never been a president of any nation on earth that has had such good support as I have had from my neighbors in Plains, Preston, Leslie, DeSoto, Ellaville and Smithville. It’s because of all of you that I became the president of the greatest nation on earth. That’s the unique thing about the life of the 39th President of the United States — is that his home folks put him in office.”

Following the program, the crowd walked across Lamar Street to Rylander Park, where they enjoyed punch and a piece of a four-tiered red, white and blue birthday cake made for Carter by the local Winn-Dixie bakery.