Johnny looked up from his wheelchair and said,” It’s all right.”

The words were few but they were deep and heartfelt as Johnny and about 260 guests with exceptional abilities of all ages celebrated Friday night at Shine Prom 2026 at the Rock Church in Conway.

Shine is a prom designed for people with exceptional abilities who are in middle school and older. Counting escorts, other volunteers and family members, there were about a thousand people present.

Each participant was crowned king or queen after they walked down the red carpet to a raucous reception. The roar could be heard across the parking lot.

Among those greeting the kings and queens were several members of the Conway High School football team, who were wearing their jerseys. They cheered loudly and enthusiastically as did everyone on the receiving line.

“I just like helping them have a good time,” said Conway quarterback Noah Legg. “This is their night. I’m really enjoying it.”

Once the kings and queens got inside, they found a church sanctuary transformed into a prom paradise. There was a DJ playing uptempo music with hundreds dancing and Chauncey, the Coastal Carolina University mascot.

On one side of the building was a cafeteria-style dining room for dinner, including seemingly unlimited amounts of pizza.

On the other side was a karaoke machine for crooners to sing their favorite tunes, which they did with a big crowd watching. Tyler belted out his rendition to the Michael Jackson hit, “Billie Jean.”

“Hi!” Tyler said with a broad smile. “It was fun. My grandmother likes this song.”

Tables were set up in the karaoke room for other activities. At the end of one table, a prom king and his escort worked on a puzzle. Others hung out in an adjacent quiet room that had sofas.

There was a photo machine where people could take selfies. It was very popular the whole time. Abigail, wearing headphones, posed along with her escort, Sydney.

“Do you think it’s fun?” Sydney said to Abigail. “She’s a little shy.”