Region’s Largest Diabetes Awareness & Fundraising Campaign Announces 2016 Chairman, Savannah Busi

SAVANNAH, Ga. - Sept. 11, 2015 - PRLog -- (SAVANNAH, GA) The largest diabetes awareness and fundraising campaign of the year for American Diabetes Association (ADA), Kiss-a-Pig, is proud to announce the chairman of the 2016 Kiss a Pig Campaign, attorney Charles ‘Bo’ Bowen, The Bowen Law Group. The theme for 2016 will be “HOLLYWOOD: Your Chance to Hog the Spotlight!”

A contest between community leaders to raise money, Kiss-a-Pig is a regional campaign with competitors from throughout Southeast Georgia. At the end of the three month campaign, the team with the most money kisses a live pig, honored by ADA as the original source of insulin.

The campaign kicks off officially on Saturday, March 5 and concludes on Saturday, May 21.

Bowen and his team will be looking for the best crews to be actors and actresses in this year’s celebrity-studded campaign. According to Bowen, “With our Hollywood theme, we hope to attract competitors who love the public eye and want to shine a spotlight on diabetes. We use humor to draw attention to our campaign and are looking for people who want to have fun raising money for an important cause.”

Bowen is a business attorney who focuses on commercial, banking, entertainment and manufacturing law and also offers comprehensive mediation services. He has received the Martindale-Hubbell® AV® Preeminent™ rating, the highest rating based upon confidential surveys sent to other attorneys. Also, Bowen has been selected by the members of the State Bar of Georgia as one of Georgia Trend’s 12th Annual Legal Elite in two categories: Business Law and Corporate Law. This year marks Bowen’s 20th year in practice as an attorney.

Kiss-a-Pig was established in Savannah in 1996 and has raised over $4.8 million for the mission of American Diabetes Association. Over 250 community leaders have participated over the years, representing every imaginable profession and industry. Past leaders have come from healthcare, financial services, hospitality and tourism, athletics, retail, real estate, government, media and entertainment, beauty and fashion, to name a few. Kiss-a-Pig has been voted Best Charity event by Savannah Magazine and Creative Loafing and has been featured in Southern Living.

The past four years has seen significant representation from Savannah’s legal community via the Savannah Boar Association. The Boars, lawyers from various law firms, have been competing since 2012 and have kissed the pig twice. The Boars, led by attorney Dave Smith with Brannen Searcy Smith, beat out the competition in 2015 with the annual Lawyers Guns & Money Sporting Clays Tournament. Organized by Robert Hughes of Brannen Searcy Smith, this event continues to grow in popularity and is the signature event for the Boars.

American Diabetes Association is proud of the involvement of the legal community and is honored to have Bo Bowen, a leader in this community, as the Campaign Chairman.

Funds raised during the Kiss-a-Pig campaign benefit American Diabetes Association, the nation’s leading organization dedicated to preventing and curing diabetes and improving the lives of all people affected by diabetes. ADA has invested over $700 million in 4,500 research projects since 1952. This research resulted in the invention of the blood glucose monitor and insulin pump, revolutionary developments in diabetes care. Now in its 75th year, the Association continues to innovate and lead with the development of new technologies for continuous glucose monitoring, smart insulin patches and many other groundbreaking advances.

Locally, the Association distributes risk tests and conducts screenings to find the undiagnosed during the ALERT. Camp Jada is an ADA camp for type 1 kids in Jacksonville. Live Empowered African American outreach programs are held in churches and community centers. Other ADA programs for the public include Living with Type 2 and Stop Diabetes @ Work. A Diabetes Support Group is being established in November, American Diabetes Month.

For more information about American Diabetes Association or Kiss-a-Pig, contact Maria Center at 912-353-8110, ext. 3091 or mcenter@diabetes.org.