As the cheers rang out, “Roll Tide!” Roll Tide!” red ketchup and yellow mustard streamed down the face of Susan Renfroe and a glob of pickle relish sat atop her head.

She had been transformed from an elementary school librarian to a human hotdog and she took it all in stride.

Renfroe, Goshen Elementary School librarian, was the loser in the annual NEA Alabama-Auburn Reading Challenge at GES but she was, in reality, a big winner.

The AR students in grades one through six at GES had answered the challenge. They had read 7,996 books with 85 percent or better comprehension.

“Calculating the words, our students read 18,583,561 words,” Renfroe said, with a smile that was barely visible through the ketchup and mustard mix. “And, yes, that’s 18 million words. That they read and comprehended what they read at 85 percent is amazing.”

This is the second year that the GES have competed in the Alabama-Auburn Reading Challenge. Renfroe said that anytime students are reading, that’s reason to celebrate.

“The Alabama-Auburn Reading Challenge is a way that NEA has of encouraging students to read,” Renfroe said.

“The students are divided into teams – Alabama and Auburn — and the team that reads the most books is the winner.”

To add a little spice to the competition, Renfroe and Wanda Corley, GES principal, have a side thing going with the loser having to be submit to a victimizing.

Renfroe, the Auburn fan, and Corley, the Alabama fan, get to choose “the weapons.”

Last year, Renfroe took a cream pie in the face from Corley.

This year, Tide readers again topped the Tigers. This time, 162 books read to 80.

Corley gave the honor of turning Renfroe into a human hotdog to a couple of eager teachers, Amy Warrick and Jody Thomas.

“Wait until next year,” Renfroe said. “Auburn is going to out read Alabama by a long shot.”

Renfroe said that, usually in every contest, somebody wins and somebody loses.

“But not in the Alabama-Auburn Reading Challenge because all of you are winners,” she said. “By participating, by reading, you won.”

Corley echoed Renfroe’s words and told the students that reading is important at every age.

“Even as adults, we continue to read and to learn,” she said. “I am proud of all of you and encourage you to keep reading through life.”