Franklin County, News, PICTURE FLIPPER
 By  Kellie Singleton Published 
6:04 am Saturday, October 13, 2012

Principal sleeps on roof

East Franklin Junior High School principal Scott Wiginton spent Tuesday night on top of the school to keep a promise he made to students.

EAST FRANKLIN – After Tuesday night, no one will be able to say that East Franklin Junior High School Principal Scott Wiginton is not a man of his word.
Wiginton, who is in his third year as principal at EFJS, has made it a point to give his students an incentive to sell tickets to their annual Fall Festival fundraiser each year.
Last year, to make the fundraising efforts more fun, he told students that he would shave his head if they sold a certain number of tickets.
When the students came through and they exceeded their goal, some were surprised when Wiginton actually sat down in a chair and let a few students shave his head completely bald, much to the delight of the rest of the student body.
But this year, Wiginton went for an incentive that was a little more dramatic than shaving his head.
“I told the students if they sold 6,000 tickets to this year’s Fall Festival, I would sleep on top of the school for one whole night,” Wiginton said.
“I had heard of other people, radio personalities, doing things similar to this to help raise money for various causes and I thought it would be a good idea and something the kids would enjoy.
“Even though I went through with shaving my head last year, I still think it was hard for some of the students to believe I would actually sleep on top of the school, so it really seemed to get them motivated – just to see if I would really do it.”
The EFJH Fall Festival was held last week, and Wiginton said the students were still a few hundred tickets shy of meeting their goal when the morning of the festival rolled around.
“I kept telling them there was no way they would sell enough tickets to make me sleep on the roof,” Wiginton said, “but they proved me wrong.
“By that evening, they had sold above and beyond the 6,000-ticket goal.”
True to his word, Wiginton donned a tent, sleeping bag, air mattress and camp chair and made his way onto the roof of the school just before 2:30 p.m. on Tuesday so the students could see him on top of the school before they left for the day.
Wiginton returned later that evening and made his camp atop the roof, where he stayed until after 7 a.m. the next morning when students started arriving to school.
“This was just a way for me to get the students excited about raising money for our school,” he said. “It didn’t cost a dime for me to sleep on the roof, but it was fun for them and helped us meet our fundraising goal.”
Wiginton said the annual Fall Festival is the largest fundraiser the school has all year.
“We really depend on the money we bring in during this event,” Wiginton said.
“It helps us with the function and upkeep of the school throughout the entire fiscal year and basically keeps us afloat until next October.
“If we didn’t have the money from the festival, we’d probably be in pretty bad shape a lot of the time, so that’s why I try to push the kids to sell as much as they can.
“If they know I’m going to do something funny or silly or off-the-wall if they meet their goal, they’re more likely to get those tickets sold.
“So far I’ve kept my word every time. I don’t know what next year’s incentive will be, but you can bet that whatever it is, I’ll go through with it if the students come through for the school.”

Also on Franklin County Times
Thorpe to play at Blue Mountain Christian
High School Sports, News, Russellville, ...
Brannon King For the FCT 
July 16, 2025
RUSSELLVILLE – Brennon Thorpe made his plans official to attend Blue Mountain Christian University and play baseball for the Toppers during a recent s...
Russellville High Class of 1967 gathers, reminisces
Columnists, News, Opinion, ...
HERE AND NOW
July 16, 2025
You can’t really go back to the good old days of high school, but you can pay them a visit now and then. That’s exactly what the RHS Class of 1967 has...
Former Cypress Lakes official to lead Guntersville State Park
Lifestyles, News
Bernie Delinski For the FCT 
July 16, 2025
GUNTERSVILLE — Heath Puckett had an Auburn University degree and golf course superintendent certification in his pocket when he arrived at Cypress Lak...
European travel builds bonds across cultures
Lifestyles, News, Russellville, ...
María Camp maria.camp@franklincountytimes.com 
July 16, 2025
RUSSELLVILLE -- A group of Franklin County travelers spent nine days this summer walking through catacombs, exploring castles and standing in places w...
Little Free Library welcomes readers in East Franklin
Lifestyles, News, Phil Campbell
María Camp maria.camp@franklincountytimes.com 
July 16, 2025
PHIL CAMPBELL — Eleven-year-old Aiden Hall is an avid reader, but he doesn’t just want to read books. He also wants to share them, and the way he deci...
King becomes elementary curriculum director
Lifestyles, Russellville
María Camp maria.camp@franklincountytimes.com 
July 16, 2025
RUSSELVILLE — Molly King says every child can learn, though not necessarily in the same way or on the same day — a belief she plans to carry into her ...
New Junior Leaders begin their training
Franklin County, News
María Camp maria.camp@franklincountytimes.com 
July 16, 2025
FRANKLIN COUNTY — Forty-two high school students from across Franklin County are beginning 10 months of hands-on leadership training and community ser...
Fire destroys 2-story garage, guest suite
Main, News, Russellville, ...
Kevin Taylor For the FCT 
July 16, 2025
R U S S E L LV I L L E – Jason Gist leaned against the wall of his home with a look of disgust while dozens of firefighters worked to extinguish a fir...

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Latest Stories
July 4, 2025Augusto Simon Diaz, 42, of Russellville, passed away July 4. Visitation and funeral were held at Spry Memorial Chapel on July 12 from 2pm ...
July 16, 2025
July 8, 2025Jamie Kerby Cummings, 41, of Russellville, passed away on July 8. Visitation took place July 13, at Spry Memorial Chapel from 1 pm to 3pm....
July 16, 2025
July 11,2025Julie “JuJu” Welch Black, 63, of Russellville, passed away on July 11.Graveside service was held at 1pm on July 13, at Belgreen Cemetery w...
July 16, 2025
July 9, 2025Scott Noel Benford, age 58, of Muscle Shoals, passed away on July 9. Visitation was held at Pinkard Funeral Home in Russellville on July 1...
July 16, 2025