Principal puckers up for pig kiss

LAKEWOOD RANCH — As hundreds of children crowded around Gullett Elementary School’s peace pole courtyard, Principal Kathy Hayes eyed her newest prospect — a 10-week-old pig.

And moments after dubbing the piglet a Gullett Gator Pig, she planted a smooch atop its head, much to the delight of students.

Students erupted into cheers and laughter, but within moments, began chanting: “We want lips! We want lips.”

And so, Hayes, wearing a grimace on her face, leaned forward again, this time kissing the pig clearly on its snout.

“I think I did my duty,” she said. “No telling where that snout has been!”

Hayes said she’d hoped to get away with kissing the pig on its head but couldn’t avoid it when the children said otherwise.

“I liked it when she got her lips on the pig,” 7-year-old Dante Talarico said.

Top-fundraiser Tatiana Wilhelm agreed.

“It was really funny,” the 10-year-old said. “I would want to see it again.”

Students earned the April 15 kiss for raising about $10,000 during Chompy’s Stomp, a walk-a-thon fundraiser hosted by the Gullett Parent-Teacher Organization in February.

“Kids seeing their school adults doing something outside of the ordinary — something very playful — is good,” Hayes said. “It’s memorable. We finished the major part of FCAT testing this week, so it was a good day to do it.”

But outside the assembly, Hayes admitted she is not a stranger to kissing pigs.

Although Hayes has no more pig kissing in store for the remainder of the school year, she said several classes, because of their Chompy’s Stomp fundraising, have earned a chance to throw wet sponges at her during the school’s field day next month.

Contact Pam Eubanks at [email protected].