Waukon FFA chapter hosts "Kiss A Pig" contest to raise money for local family

by McKayla Stock
Waukon FFA Reporter

The Little Switzerland FFA Chapter at Waukon High School hosted a “Kiss A Pig” contest to raise money to help support a local family. The Matt and Ann Marting family experienced a house fire in the early morning hours of January 27, with the house being a total loss and the family losing everything except for the clothes on their backs.
As part of National FFA Week observed February 15-22, the Little Switzerland FFA hosted a variety of dress-up days and activities, including the "Kiss A Pig" contest. Members of the FFA Officer Team recruited teachers to kiss the pig, with Mr. Schmadeke, Mr. Diercks, Ms. Condon and Mr. Hemann accepting the challenge. Throughout the week, students could put change in the jar with one of those teachers' pictures on it. At the end of the week, the teacher with the most money in his or her jar had to kiss the pig.
The assembly to announce the winners was held March 3. Waukon High School students gathered in the gym where the contest winner would be announced. The baby pig was provided by the Tom and Bev Heim family. The FFA chapter asked the Martings to attend the assembly. Little Switzerland FFA President Sam Schwartz began the assembly by thanking the students and teachers for coming and donating their spare change to a great cause.
When it was time to announce the contest winner, the FFA officers thought they would throw a twist into announcing who was the real winner of the contest. As everybody was eager to hear who the winner was, President Schwartz asked Mr. Diercks to come forth and kiss the pig, even though he was not aware that he was not the actual winner. Mr. Diercks proceeded to take the pig out of the box and kissed it on the nose.
After breaking the news to the students that Mr. Diercks was not the actual winner, President Schwartz announced that teacher Mr. Schmadake had actually received the most "votes" and was the true winner of the contest.
After Mr. Schmadake kissed the baby pig, the Martings proceeded to thank all the students for their generous donations. For the two weeks combined total, Waukon High School students raised $224.74 for the Marting family. The Little Switzerland FFA chapter also provided the family with FFA t-shirts and sweatshirts to wear.