VALDOSTA — Lowndes Middle School seventh-grader and team mascot Brent Dixon is determined to see his name in the Guinness Book of World Records.

“For two years, I have been collecting key chains,” he said. “Right now, I have 1,550. When I get 2,500, I think I will have enough.”

Dixon, the son of Thomas and Karen Dixon, said there is one individual listed in the Guinness Book of World Records who collected more than 20,000 key rings.

“He does not have the whole key chain like I do,” Dixon said.

All of the key chains in Dixon’s collection are manufactured. None are homemade, and some are from as far away as Paris, France.

“My favorite one is the giant penny,” Dixon said. “I even have key chains from all 50 states.”

From a “Happy Days” lunch box to a barrel of monkeys to WCW wrestlers, Dixon’s collection is diverse.

“I wanted something that I could do that was different,” said Dixon, who was diagnosed at birth with muscular dystrophy, a hereditary disease characterized by gradual wasting of the muscles. “I can tell you where each of these key chains came from.”

Physically, Dixon’s body is confined to a wheel chair. However, his spirit soars.

At the end of his sixth-grade year, Dixon, along with school officials, announced his intentions to serve as Lowndes Middle School’s first official school mascot.

“I noticed we did not have a school mascot,” he said previously. “I thought I could do it.”

Wearing a Viking helmet and waving a crimson flag, Dixon plans to lead his team to victory this fall.

“Collecting these key chains and getting into the Guinness Book of World Records is one more thing for me to shoot for and achieve,” Dixon said.

For more information on Dixon’s efforts, please write to him at 3563 Meadowdale Drive, Valdosta, Ga. 31606.



To contact reporter Jessica Pope, please call 244-3400, ext. 255.