Interim Manatee County School District boss Diana Greene tosses 'strike' before Bradenton Marauders game

BRADENTON -- Her son told her to arch it up high.

That was the advice interim Superintendent Diana Greene got from one of her two sons, Josh, a 19-year-old student at High Point University. Josh is an outfielder for the Division 1 Panthers, and Greene joked her son didn't get his arm from her.

"I'm very nervous. I'd rather give the state of the address to the school district," Greene joked as she prepared to throw out the first pitch Wednesday at the Bradenton Marauders baseball game against the St. Lucie Mets at McKechnie Field.

Greene was sworn in as the Manatee County School District interim superintendent last week, and district officials are working out a one-year permanent contract retroactive to June 1. Approval of the proposed contract is on the agenda for Tuesday's meeting.

Greene said the highlight of the last week was attending all six high school ceremonies where she shook the hand of all graduating seniors.

"That's what I remember most about last week. The best thing of the job, quite frankly, is knowing the things that we do Monday through Friday each and every day, whether it's with our teachers, our principals, our parents or our volunteers, it's all about making sure they can walk across that stage," she said.

Greene was invited to throw the pitch by the Marauders and by the Manatee Education Foundation Executive Director Mary Glass. Greene is automatically seated on the foundation as superintendent.

"We're looking forward to working with her," Glass said.

Outfitted in a custom Pirates jersey with her name and No. 15 on the back, Greene stood in front of the mound and threw the ball to Marty the Marauder. The ball bounced once before reaching Marty but the throw was deemed a strike by the public address announcer.

Meghin Delaney, education reporter, can be reached at 941-745-7081. Follow her on Twitter@MeghinDelaney.

This story was originally published June 4, 2015 at 12:00 AM with the headline "Interim Manatee County School District boss Diana Greene tosses 'strike' before Bradenton Marauders game ."