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Mayor's Childhood An Open Book

Scott Iskowitz/ The Tampa Tribune

Tampa Mayor Pam Iorio reads "Ugly Fish" to students at Riverhills Elementary School in Temple Terrace Thursday morning. Iorio went to school there when she was a kid.

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By MICHELE SAGER, The Tampa Tribune

Published: October 31, 2007

TEMPLE TERRACE - Balloons, posters and hugs welcomed Tampa Mayor Pam Iorio back to her alma mater last week.

Iorio, who grew up in Temple Terrace, visited her former school, Riverhills Elementary, to read to the students. The visit Thursday was a reward for some of the students for exemplary attendance.

Iorio said she felt like she was the one getting the reward by returning to her old school. Although about four decades have passed since Iorio attended classes at Riverhills, she remembered all her teachers' names and the school song - sort of.

When Iorio began to belt out the tune for the second-graders, she stopped after the first line, forgetting the lyrics. She quickly recovered and finished, to the astonishment of members of the current school staff, who had not heard the song. Iorio promised to write down the lyrics for them.

'I loved to read when I was here,' Iorio told the students. 'I would read everything, and all the time.'

She said that when she was a student at Riverhills, she read every biography in the school library. The school's librarian even let Iorio visit the school district's book warehouse to pick out additional biographies for the school.

'I loved Riverhills Elementary,' Iorio told the students. 'I would ride my bike to school. I had no idea I would be mayor of Tampa, but I am, and you could be, too. '

Iorio read the book 'Ugly Fish' by Kara LaReau aloud to the students. The students shared their own fish stories with the mayor.

Before Iorio left, students gave her handmade cards thanking her for the visit. As the students filed out of the library, one student was glad he didn't have to worry about impressing the mayor, remarking, 'Now, I can untuck my shirt.'

Reporter Michele Sager can be reached at (813) 865-4843 or msager@tampatrib.com.

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