Tug of war, kissing pigs, and so much more: Coal City celebrates FFA Week

It was a good morning for everyone except the math teachers at Coal City High School on Monday morning, as Mr. Hittle had to kiss a pig and Mr. Leman got a pie in the face.

The Grundy Area FFA chapter, through the Grundy Area Vocational Center, celebrated FFA Week at Coal City High School Monday morning. Students got a chance to vote with their wallets, raising money to get Mr. Hittle to kiss a pig. The students raised a total of $162.27 between all teachers for the kiss the pig competition. The second place winner was Mr. Castle, who brought in $22.43. Mr. Castle got to kiss a horse named Earl.

Hittle brought in $30.01, and the pig he got to kiss was Yorkshire piglet, just a few weeks old.

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Math teacher Luke Hittle kisses a pig during the Grundy County FFA week kickoff on Monday, Feb. 23, 2026. (Michael Urbanec)

FFA Week is a time for FFA members and students to celebrate the organization and for members to show off what they’ve accomplished and learned in their time participating in it. For some members, like Sophia Gonzalez, it’s something she didn’t know she’d be into until she saw her sister in the blue jacket. She thought the jacket was cool at first.

“She told me how involved they were, how much community service they do, and how many CDE’s (career development events) they would compete in and just how much they did,” Gonzalez said.

She then knew it was something she wanted to join.

For others, like Jessie Henke, FFA is an extension of their lives on the farm and of their experience with 4-H growing up. Henke said she’s been in 4-H for 12 years, and the only thing she knew about FFA before joining was their state and national conventions.

“The main reason I joined FFA was to give back to my community, do community service and give myself to other people with my time and service,” Adelai Archer said.

Through their service, the students gain skills that help them go into careers after high school and college, and those careers don’t always have to be in agriculture.

“I’m considering going and being an ag teacher,” Brooklyn Bankowski said. “I want to show my love and inspire little kids to go into agriculture and join FFA.”

That’s not to say there aren’t careers in agriculture worth following, however. Henke said her family raises livestock, and the closest emergency vet for livestock and large animals is an hour and a half away. That’s one of the vocations that’s needed locally.

That said, FFA isn’t just farming.

“It’s vet science, it’s horticulture, it’s land management,” Kami Gregoire said. “I think that’s where FFA gets misinterpreted. It’s not just soybeans and corn and tractors and combines.”

Gregoire said FFA has provided so many opportunities, even for students who don’t have a background in agriculture.

“You just meet so many new people and get so many new chances to do things that you’ve never done before,” Gregoire said.