The 15th annual Kiss-a-Pig Contest pits a Hinesville business leader against Savannah school superintendent.
The campaign, the largest fundraiser of the year for American Diabetes Association , kicked off Thursday at Tubby’s in Thunderbolt, a small municipality in the Savannah area.
A contest between community leaders to raise money, Kiss-a-Pig has consistently been voted “Best Charity Event” by Savannah Magazine and enjoys popularity among locals in Chatham and Liberty Counties.
Angela Powell, with Exit Team Realty in Hinesville and Savannah, will be competing against Savannah-Chatham County Superintendent Dr. Thomas Lockamy for the honor of kissing Lulu the Pig.
The pig is honored by the ADA for being the original source of insulin.
Both the Hinesville community and Savannah schools have long supported ADA through Kiss-a-Pig and are taking it a step further this year with a DIRECT competition between themselves as the longest running participants in the contest.
This year’s theme, “Piglets of the Caribbean,” revolves around pirates and is chaired by “Captain” Morgan Derst of Derst Baking Company.
According to Derst, “It is widely assumed that my ancestor, Captain Derst, whose profile graces the bags of bread, was a pirate. I am actually the first pirate in the family and I intend to plunder the area for treasures to benefit ADA!”
The pig will be kissed at the Buccaneer Costume Ball on Saturday, May 19 at the Tybee Island Lighthouse.
The event will feature open bars and dinner, live music and dancing and a silent auction. A video montage of contestant fundraisers will be shown before the pig is kissed.
Powell is one of 10 individuals from Liberty County who have participated as contestants in support of the mission of American Diabetes Association. The others are:
1997 - Jim Hildebrandt, First Union Bank
1998 - Bru Krebs, Krebs Homes
1999 - Dr. Horace Deal, Optometrist
2000 - Keith Moran, Liberty County Sheriff’s Department
2001 - Tom Durden, District Attorney
2002 - Bill Goodwin, Kroger
2003 - Claude Dryden, Dryden Enterprises
2004 - James Rogers, The Heritage Bank
2005 - Bobby Ryon, Coastal Communications
2006 - Kenny Smiley, Liberty County Chamber of Commerce
Kenny Smiley placed second in the competition in 2006 and Liberty County has come close to winning in past years also.
A Hinesville representative has never kissed the pig. Therefore, Hinesville residents are encouraged to support their representative this year.
Upcoming events
• Thursday, March 29: Celebrity Bartending/Pig Gig/Pirate Costume Gala, Sunbury Crab Company, 7 p.m.
• Saturday, April 14: Dorchester Clay Shoot at Dorchester Gun Club
• Saturday, April 28: Motorcycle Poker Run. Starts at Harley Davison and Hooters in Savannah
For more information on any of these events, contact Angela Powell at 977-5300; Karen Smiley at 977-4160; Sandra Spikes at 977-1045 or Barney Maley at 884-6640.
All proceeds raised during Kiss-a-Pig benefit American Diabetes Association, the nation’s leading organization dedicated to curing diabetes and improving the lives of all people affected by diabetes.
Diabetes is the nation’s fifth deadliest disease, killing more than 220,000 Americans each year. It is the leading cause of heart disease and stroke, adult blindness, kidney failure and lower limb amputations.
Many people living with this life altering disease do not know it, partially because they may not experience any symptoms during the early stages.
More than 14 million Americans have been diagnosed with diabetes and researchers believe over six million more may have diabetes and not realize it.
During the annual American Diabetes “Alert Day,” March 20, people considered at high risk for type 2 diabetes should get tested. Paper risk tests to determine risk status will be available at Kroger in Hinesville.
Memorial Health University Medical Center in Savannah will be conducting free blood screenings from 10 a.m.-2 p.m. in the front lobby of the hospital.
Risk factors include being over the age of 45, overweight, having a sedentary lifestyle and family history of diabetes. African Americans and Latinos are at increased risk.
For information, call Maria Center at 912-353-8110, ext. 3091 or mcenter@diabetes.org
The campaign, the largest fundraiser of the year for American Diabetes Association , kicked off Thursday at Tubby’s in Thunderbolt, a small municipality in the Savannah area.
A contest between community leaders to raise money, Kiss-a-Pig has consistently been voted “Best Charity Event” by Savannah Magazine and enjoys popularity among locals in Chatham and Liberty Counties.
Angela Powell, with Exit Team Realty in Hinesville and Savannah, will be competing against Savannah-Chatham County Superintendent Dr. Thomas Lockamy for the honor of kissing Lulu the Pig.
The pig is honored by the ADA for being the original source of insulin.
Both the Hinesville community and Savannah schools have long supported ADA through Kiss-a-Pig and are taking it a step further this year with a DIRECT competition between themselves as the longest running participants in the contest.
This year’s theme, “Piglets of the Caribbean,” revolves around pirates and is chaired by “Captain” Morgan Derst of Derst Baking Company.
According to Derst, “It is widely assumed that my ancestor, Captain Derst, whose profile graces the bags of bread, was a pirate. I am actually the first pirate in the family and I intend to plunder the area for treasures to benefit ADA!”
The pig will be kissed at the Buccaneer Costume Ball on Saturday, May 19 at the Tybee Island Lighthouse.
The event will feature open bars and dinner, live music and dancing and a silent auction. A video montage of contestant fundraisers will be shown before the pig is kissed.
Powell is one of 10 individuals from Liberty County who have participated as contestants in support of the mission of American Diabetes Association. The others are:
1997 - Jim Hildebrandt, First Union Bank
1998 - Bru Krebs, Krebs Homes
1999 - Dr. Horace Deal, Optometrist
2000 - Keith Moran, Liberty County Sheriff’s Department
2001 - Tom Durden, District Attorney
2002 - Bill Goodwin, Kroger
2003 - Claude Dryden, Dryden Enterprises
2004 - James Rogers, The Heritage Bank
2005 - Bobby Ryon, Coastal Communications
2006 - Kenny Smiley, Liberty County Chamber of Commerce
Kenny Smiley placed second in the competition in 2006 and Liberty County has come close to winning in past years also.
A Hinesville representative has never kissed the pig. Therefore, Hinesville residents are encouraged to support their representative this year.
Upcoming events
• Thursday, March 29: Celebrity Bartending/Pig Gig/Pirate Costume Gala, Sunbury Crab Company, 7 p.m.
• Saturday, April 14: Dorchester Clay Shoot at Dorchester Gun Club
• Saturday, April 28: Motorcycle Poker Run. Starts at Harley Davison and Hooters in Savannah
For more information on any of these events, contact Angela Powell at 977-5300; Karen Smiley at 977-4160; Sandra Spikes at 977-1045 or Barney Maley at 884-6640.
All proceeds raised during Kiss-a-Pig benefit American Diabetes Association, the nation’s leading organization dedicated to curing diabetes and improving the lives of all people affected by diabetes.
Diabetes is the nation’s fifth deadliest disease, killing more than 220,000 Americans each year. It is the leading cause of heart disease and stroke, adult blindness, kidney failure and lower limb amputations.
Many people living with this life altering disease do not know it, partially because they may not experience any symptoms during the early stages.
More than 14 million Americans have been diagnosed with diabetes and researchers believe over six million more may have diabetes and not realize it.
During the annual American Diabetes “Alert Day,” March 20, people considered at high risk for type 2 diabetes should get tested. Paper risk tests to determine risk status will be available at Kroger in Hinesville.
Memorial Health University Medical Center in Savannah will be conducting free blood screenings from 10 a.m.-2 p.m. in the front lobby of the hospital.
Risk factors include being over the age of 45, overweight, having a sedentary lifestyle and family history of diabetes. African Americans and Latinos are at increased risk.
For information, call Maria Center at 912-353-8110, ext. 3091 or mcenter@diabetes.org