VIDEO: Trenton Coach Reads 'Mom-ents' at City Council Meeting

Those attending the meeting Monday night, and council members alike, were fighting off tears as football coach and teacher Aaron Segedi read a column from Monday's Trenton Patch.

The weekly column "" is written by Trenton Patch contributor , and this week she did something a little different than normal. In this week's "Mom-ents," Everly took an opportunity to write a letter, thanking the people who participated and organized , which took place at on Saturday.

Victory Day is an event that allows children with special needs an opportunity to play football and be cheerleaders, while being mentored by local high school athletes, cheerleaders and members of high school marching bands from around Downriver.

Segedi was one of the primary organizers of the event and he told council members he wanted to read the letter in order to give people a better idea just how deeply people are impacted by the momentous event.

It's clear from feedback on the Trenton Patch Facebook page and after , this year's Victory Day touched all of those involved.

Former University of Michigan football coach Lloyd Carr was the key note speaker at Victory Day, and Trenton Patch has it on good authority that Carr missed a Wolverines kickoff for the first time in his life because of the event. Participants and organizers said he could have left to watch the start of the game, but he was having so much fun he didn't want to leave.

Perhaps no one person was more touched by the event than Everly herself. Everly has a brother, Robbie, with down syndrome who participated in the event.

She wrote Monday's column in the form of a thank you letter describing what the day meant to her, her brother and the many children with special needs, who spent one day listening to the echoing cheers of their adoring fans.

This is Everly's letter in its entirety:

My youngest brother, Robbie, has Down’s Syndrome and is deaf. 

He has never been invited to a birthday party.

He will never go watch a football game with a bunch of his friends.

He will never pick his date up for the prom.

He laughs easily, smiles even easier, and will do anything to get the same out of you.

He doesn’t see race or disabilities and has never met a stranger.

He has been made fun of by people who were too ignorant to understand him.  I hope that he didn’t realize it.  I hope that someday they will see the error in their actions.

He has the brain of a child and the heart of a saint-and this weekend he got to be the “star of the team” for a few moments as he took part in at on Saturday. 

To all the Trenton coaches, players, cheerleaders, band members, and those players that came from opposing schools to give special needs kids the chance to hear their name over the loud speaker and run for a touchdown at Trenton High School- thank you.  I hope that it was a “game” you will remember forever-because I am sure those kids who walked, ran, or were carried across the goal line with the football in hand as they “dodged” tackles will never forget it.