The winners of the 19th annual Kiss-A-Pig campaign will be announced tomorrow night during the campaign’s final gala dinner at 7 p.m. at the Hyatt Regency Ballroom in Savannah.
The annual campaign pits local communities and organizations against one another in a friendly battle to see who can raise the most funds for the American Diabetes Association and earn the right to kiss a live pig. The pig is the focal point of the ADA’s signature event because the animal’s pancreas was the first source of insulin for people who were living with diabetes.
Nineteen-year campaign veterans Team Savannah-Chatham County Public Schools and 14-year campaign veterans Team Liberty County are in the “Big Pig” category. Team Liberty candidate Joel Osteen, of Osteen and Osteen Law Firm, might have the opportunity to smooch Armani the swine.
Team Liberty hosted a dinner gala/silent auction and the annual Friends of Dorchester Sporting Clays Shoot the first weekend in April. Early estimates indicted the gala raised more than $32,000. The final tally of the entire weekend was not released, but Osteen and campaign manager Danny Creasy were optimistic they would reach their goal of $100,000. Funds from last September’s first annual Sunbury 5K also benefited Team Liberty, as did the $5,000 raised by Liberty Elementary School and principal Chris Anderson, who, for the second consecutive year, wallowed in a pool of mud as delighted students watched.
Communities and organizations throughout Southeast Georgia and South Carolina are competing in the “Small Pig” category, in which 13 teams are vying for a chance to kiss a pig.
All funds raised during the Kiss-a-Pig campaign benefit the ADA, the nation’s leading organization dedicated to curing diabetes and improving the lives of people affected by the disease.