Smooching Porky

By Rachael Dickson (Contact)

Sunday, August 3, 2008

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Kiss a Pig Winner

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Myer poses with his ribbon and the kiss-a-pig winner belt buckle. (Rachael Dickson)

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Kiss-a-pig contestants Sola Pallotta, the owner of the Pink Shop in Leesburg, Heather Elias, a realtor in Leesburg, Joseph Myer, assistant vice president of Merrill Lynch in Leesburg, and Wayne Bramhall, an Advertising Sales Consultant at Loudoun Times Mirror, pose with Miss Loudoun County Fair 2008, Ashley Niergarth. (Rachael Dickson)

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Kiss a pig contest winner Joseph Myer, assistant vice president of Merrill Lynch in Leesburg, puckers up for porky. (Rachael Dickson)

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Joseph Myer, assistant vice president of Merrill Lynch in Leesburg, got to kiss a pig Saturday night at the unveiling of the winner of the Kiss a Pig contest at the Loudoun County Fair.

Myer said he raised about $1,800 to win his prize smooch, drawing mostly upon his personal and business network of friends and colleagues to gain their support.

A former 4-H participant in the Loudoun County Fair, Myer said in an email, “I signed up for Kiss A Pig because when I was growing up the county fair was an event that I always cherished and looked forward to all summer. This was a pretty interesting opportunity to help the fair out in a different way.”

Wayne Bramhall, an advertising sales consultant at The Loudoun Times-Mirror, came in second place. Bramhall said he collected his money by putting out jars at various locations and going around to businesses and asking people for donations

Sola Pallotta, the owner of the Pink Shop in Leesburg and Heather Elias, a realtor in Leesburg, also raised money for the contest. The contestants as a whole raised $4,287, money which will go towards maintaining the buildings on the fair grounds, youth programs, and scholarships.

“It was a very kind pig,” Myer said after the porcine puckering. “It was a pleasure to kiss the pig with such a good cause in mind.”

Myer said he loved the fair for what it represents as a whole. “Friends, families and neighbors are all given the opportunity to come together and enjoy all the various activities that the fair has to offer,” he said. “I really feel strongly that a county fair is a part of the fabric of a community, especially a rural community.”

Tagged: animals, fundraiser, loudoun county fair

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