All for a good cause

Published 8:46 pm Monday, April 20, 2015

During a March of Dimes fundraiser at Kilby Shores Elementary School on Friday, assistant principal Lorri Banks gets up close and personal with “Hammy,” owned by Amanda Short, pictured left. (Submitted Photo)

During a March of Dimes fundraiser at Kilby Shores Elementary School on Friday, assistant principal Lorri Banks gets up close and personal with “Hammy,” owned by Amanda Short, pictured left. (Submitted Photo)

No prize will be awarded for guessing Kilby Shores Elementary School assistant principal Lorri Banks’ new nickname.

Students and faculty gathered in the cafeteria Friday to witness Banks kiss a pig — reluctantly — after she received more votes than her boss, principal Lori Mounie.

“It started off because we wanted to have a contest with administration,” said teacher assistant Sue Rimasse, the school’s March of Dimes coordinator.

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It just so happened, she said, that the last name of Kilby Shores’ new assistant principal is Banks. “‘Piggy’ and ‘Banks’ went together so well,” she said.

Amanda Short of Allongé Dance Academy and Pilates Studio supplied her pet, 3-year-old potbelly pig “Hammy” — the object of the winner’s affections.

The new assistant principal was “more hesitant in wanting to kiss the pig, so it made it more fun and exciting,” Rimasse said.

“The principal said, ‘I would like to kiss the pig; it doesn’t matter.’”

Should Banks have been less candid about her aversion to pigs? The results of the vote suggest she should have been.

Students paid 50 cents to cast a ballot, Rimasse said. Most of them decided it would be more fun to see their assistant principal screw up her face in disgust.

“She was very fearful in getting next to the animal,” Rimasse said, adding that the domesticated pig is actually more like a dog.

Rimasse said the students were excited when the big event arrived. “I think they thought it was going to be a tiny little pig,” she said.

When she pulled out a stuffed pig, Banks had them fooled for a second. Many thought she was about to renege.

But then she landed one on Hammy’s behind.

The pig kissing — new this year, and bringing in about $100 — is one of several strategies at Kilby Shores for raising money for March of Dimes, which helps women have full-term pregnancies.

During Paint Night on Wednesday, parents, faculty and staff will donate money to be led in a painting exercise by art teacher Angie Salerno. “She takes them stroke-by-stroke,” Rimasse said, adding Chick-fil-A will supply dinner.

Individual classrooms are also collecting money, with the winning classroom to be treated to a free ice cream party.

“We have sold lollipops,” Rimasse added.

Kilby Shores is aiming to raise $1,200 for March of Dimes this year, after raising $1,000 last year.

“We are one of the many schools that participate in March of Dimes,” Rimasse said, adding, “It’s always been our favorite here.”