The Great American Teach-In Embraces Because of Sam
Do you recognize this face 
?
Sam Piazza and I had a wonderful surprise yesterday that was orchestrated by Walker Middle Magnet School teachers at the Great American Teach-In.
Dr. Marie Whalen, Chief HR Officer, Human Resources for the entire Hillsborough County School system made it a point to come to the school for our presentation where we talked about our careers and shared a Because of Sam movie trailer — and Sam and I had NO IDEA she was coming!
The reason this was so amazing and emotional for us is that she was the Principal at Gaither High School 10 years ago when Sam won Homecoming King and was there when I first worked with Tammy Roebuck on initial filming for the movie…
… And Dr. Whalen is featured in the movie poster shown here. Sam and I hadn’t seen her since his high school days 10 years ago. It was a very touching reunion and she stayed for our entire presentation, too.
The inclusive culture she set into motion at Gaither High School helped set the stage, so to speak, for Sam’s success there.
It was sooooo cool that she posed for this “blast from the past” photo. This picture ALSO appears in the 2009 Tampa Tribune article that announced Sam’s accomplishment of being crowned Homecoming King – and that appears in the movie.
We are so grateful for all of the support and positive response we received from the school system yesterday.
We also visited Claywell Elementary School for the Teach-In and had a wonderful time, there, too.
P.S. The next screening of Because of Sam is THIS Monday night in Carrollwood at The Villagio Cinemas, Nov. 25th at 7 pm. Buy here before it sells out.
P.P.S. All who attend get a FREE PDQ milk shake 🥤coupon; and those who bring at least one canned good donation for Metropolitan Ministries get a FREE box of popcorn 🍿.