VALDOSTA — A 12-year veteran in the NFL, Randall Godfrey has lived a blessed life.

On Saturday, Godfrey returned to Lowndes High, where he was a USA Today High School All-American in 1991, to give back to the community and encourage children ages 6-15 to dream big at the 18th annual Randall Godfrey All-Star Camp.

“We’ve been doing this camp now 18 years, but there’s just been some many people in the community who helped mold me into who I am, so I always try to come back and just help a kid or two,” Godfrey said on the field at Martin Stadium. “I look up now, the guys that are running my camps are the kids that were babies, like Michael Barrett, Josh-Harvey Clemons in the NFL now, Jay Rome played at Georgia, had some shots in the NFL, but those guys come back and work the camps, and that’s just what we do. It’s all about giving back.”

More than 135 kids attended the camp, including three bus loads of children shuttled nearly 135 miles from Dublin to enjoy the fun.

Campers spent the early part of the session running through drills coached by current Lowndes players and former area stars. Vikings Quentin Evans and Josh Inman were among the volunteers, as was former quarterback, and University of Michigan recruit, Barrett.

Former Valdosta High standout Rome said Godfrey calls or texts him about the camp every year, and because he remembers what it was like to be a child attending the all-star camp, he always makes a point to return to his hometown to participate.

“I remember being 6, 7, 8, 9 years old, and every summer, we were looking forward to coming to the Randall Godfrey camp,” Rome said. “For the football, for the competition, for the raffle Randall does, the cool stuff he always gave out: bikes and game systems, jerseys, it was always an exiting time during the summer for, not just me, but all the other kids that were really into football, which was pretty much every kid at Valdosta.

“Just being able to be a part of the camp as a coach and help him mentor, and kind of guide some of these kids, it’s just really big for me, because I feel like Randall so many guys down and did the same for me. Now that I’m in the position to give the back, and do the same they did for me, it’s just really special for me.”

Washington Redskins safety, and former Lowndes standout, Harvey-Clemons added: “This area is a very big football place, and so it’s just great to be able to come back here and give back to the kids that were in the same situation that we were in growing up.”

Although Harvey-Clemons never attended the Randall Godfrey All-Star Camp in his youth, he brought his son and nephew along Saturday, allowing him to experience the excitement of being on the field at Martin Stadium through a child’s eyes.

“That’s something we have to realize, is that, when we were that young, all we were worried about is playing for Lowndes High, and just being able to be out on this field, being able to be in this stadium,” said Harvey-Clemons. “That’s what I was looking forward to the most when I was around their age. So, they’re actually out here at Lowndes High, and they have NFL players that’s out here with them, I just feel it gives them a great motivation and shows them they can do anything that they put their mind to.”

Encouraging the youth to reach of the stars, no matter the goal, is the exactly message Godfrey wants to covey.

“We’ve just got to encourage our kids,” Godfrey said. “It’s not about football for me, really. It’s really for these kids to get an education, to be positive role models, go out, get jobs and be effective in your community, do some positive things, and that’s what it’s about for me.

“When I see them coaching school, or I see one coaching, or I see one doing something else, that’s what makes me happy.”

Following some scrimmages on the field, Godfrey took the campers into the Lowndes High School cafeteria to feed them lunch and provide the volunteers a platform to speak to the kids about the trials they’ve been through and the mistakes they made along the way, in an effort to prevent them from falling into the same pratfalls.

The afternoon concluded with Godfrey awarding around $3,000 worth of prizes to the campers, including bicycles, Playstation gaming systems, jerseys and more.

Godfrey insisted that in fewer than 15-20 years, it’ll be the campers in attendance Saturday that’ll be in his position. He’s confident the legacy of the Randall Godfrey All-Star Camp will live on with the native Valdostan stars of today.

“It will. It will,” Godfrey said. “You see (Jacksonville Jaguars linebacker) Telvin Smith does something, (Indianapolis Colts defensive back) Kenny Moore is going to do a community day, and a lot of guys are going to do something in the community.

“I just hope that we can continue to combine our stuff together and just make it huge for the kids, because I’m all about giving back. I’m all about giving back, because there are just so many kids now that open the refrigerator this morning and didn’t have a meal, and some of these kids out here today, and that’s why I’m going to feed them today, I’m going to give them t-shirts, they’re going to take home prizes.”

Godfrey saw one such taste of the mindset he’s worked 18 years to cultivate in Valdosta on Saturday when Tim Blanton, of Blanton Auto Sales, covered the $5 cost of admission for all the campers in attendance.

Next year, Godfrey hopes similar donations can help spread his message even further.

“That was big by Mr. Blanton, to come in and do that,” Godfrey said. “I’m going to utilize him early next year, because I think it’s important. When we can grab more kids, I’ll pack this stadium if I need to.”

Derrick Davis is the sports editor at the Valdosta Daily Times.