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A spirit that is not afraid

Council member reflects on life and time in office

Council member Norman dedicates life to community values.
Council member Norman dedicates life to community values.

Each Sunday at Covenant Presbyterian Church, Elder Bob Norman, can be spotted leading worship or teaching children during Sunday school.
When the organ plays during service, Norman's wife can be seen with fingers flying over the keys and producing the worship music for all the churchgoers.
Whether preaching, teaching or planning worship, Norman said he is a man of faith, Sunday through Sunday, and it guides the decisions he makes each day.
"I am a man of faith," Norman said. "Not faith in myself or faith in government, but I am a man with strong faith in God. It forms and steers me in everything I do: my business, my personal life, my family life and my civic life."
Norman said he doesn't separate faith from who he is, so his relationship with Christ and within the community are the same.
"Integrity is part of that," Norman said. "If you are a person with a strong relationship with Christ and believe what the Bible teaches, that is not what makes us okay. When we have been changed drastically like I was, it forms who you are and drives who you are."
Growing up in the small town of Talladega, Norman was the youngest of four children, and said he grew up in a different time.
"I grew up in a small town in the South in the '50s," Norman said. "We didn't lock our doors, I rode my bike around town and my parents didn't worry about where I was or what might happen to me."
For Norman, where to go to college was never a question either.
He grew up an Auburn fan and his father went to Auburn before having to drop out during the Great Depression.
"Both my older brothers and my older sister went to Auburn, so I guess it was sort of assumed that I would go," Norman said. "I didn't want to venture out too far from the family tree I guess."
Norman said when he graduated from high school he wasn't very mature, and he went to Auburn purely to have a good time.
"I was not a real good student," Norman said. "I had a good time and had to drop out of school and go to work. I grew up a little bit and came back and got my degree."
When Norman graduated from Auburn with a degree in business administration ,he moved to Aniston before moving back to Auburn seven years later.
Looking at Auburn, Norman said he noticed that Auburn seemed to have a number of city representatives he had a lot of respect for.
He said he thought that was unique and he admired them.
"I have never thought Auburn was a place where the government was corrupt and people had their hands out looking for bribes and kickbacks," Norman said.
Norman said due to his impression of Auburn city officials and needing something to busy his hands, he decided to contribute to the city through its council.
"I thought I could do that," Norman said. "I thought I had some leadership communication qualities I could put to use, and my integrity is valuable to me. I thought I could contribute."
Serving on City Council, spending time at his church and completing his honey-do lists is how Norman said he spends his free time now that his daughter is grown and soon to be married.
Norman is currently serving his second term as city councilman, and he said once his ten years are up he considers his civic debt paid.
He will continue to serve his church and follow his faith.
"I have made a lot of dumb choices, and still make them from time to time," Norman said. "Christians aren't perfect, Christians are human beings that have been changed but still have a flawed nature. I can make a bad mistake today, but I can recognize it pretty quick. I feel like I make more good choices than bad."


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