Published: June 19, 2009 11:36 pm      

Puckeer up, you porker

GREENVILLE — Patrick McGath puckered up in the swine barn of the Hunt County fairgrounds Friday morning to kiss Ralph, the pig prince, as part of the group’s Relay for Life fund-raiser.

“This was our first year to participate in Relay for Life,” said Kim Wagner, human resource generalist for Rubbermaid. “We formed a team and held several fund-raisers. We had a bake sale and raffled off some products, but the biggest thing was the Kiss a Pig Contest with our management team.”

All 12 managers at Rubbermaid participated in the contest.

“We started collecting money in April and collected all the way until May 29,” said Wagner. “All told, the Kiss a Pig Contest raised $910.31.”

Employees were asked to donate to their favorite manager — the manager they wanted to see kiss a pig.

According to Wagner, the race was tight up until about five minutes to the end of the contest, when Patrick barely beat out one of the other managers to win the coveted kiss.

“I just happen to be the lucky one to have the most donations in my folder,” said McGath at the fairgrounds minutes before the famed kiss. “I was about $80 behind up until the last three minutes and then somehow or another I ended up magically in front.”

By the end of the contest McGath, the newest addition to the Greenville team, had $307.46 in his jar.

“He transferred from Ohio Jan. 12, but has been with the company since 1990,” said Wagner. “We teased him that this was his initiation and a welcome back to Texas present.”

Being the winner of the Kiss a Pig Contest, McGath had to pucker up to Celeste FFA Matt Barth’s pig Ralph, but McGath was a good sport, kissing the pig three times so that his fellow employees could be assured of a good picture.

“He won’t bite me, will he?” was McGath’s main concern. Once he got in the pen with Ralph the bonding began as the pig gnawed on his boots while McGath played with Ralph’s ears, getting to know each other a bit before the big moment.

Altogether Rubbermaid raised more than $4,000 for Relay for Life.

“We were very pleased with our first year turning out so well,” said Wagner. “Patrick was a great sport about the whole thing.”