Brookhaven’s Katrina Hines was invited to”Come on down!” when she and her husband went to a taping of “ThePrice Is Right” over the summer.

    Hines had her name called at the beginning as one of the firstcontestants for the taping of the long-running television gameshow. The show featuring Hines’ appearance is set to air Wednesdayat 10 a.m.

    “It was so exciting,” Hines said. “My husband, Ronald, and I tookmy son, LaRon, to a young actors camp, and the show wasn’t even onour agenda for the trip. We were just looking for something to doone day, so I went online to print off the tickets.”

    Hines explained the show has been one of her favorite things towatch since she was a little girl. She still can’t really believeshe had the chance to be on it.

    “It’s been one of my dreams since I was young to be on that show,”she said. “I grew up watching it, and it was almost like a ritualat my grandmother’s home to sit down and watch it every day.”

    Hines, who is principal of Kennedy Elementary School in McComb,described the scene from waiting in line that morning to sitting intheir seats eagerly anticipating the start of the show.

    “It was a long waiting line to get in like I thought it might be,”she said. “And it was just exciting to even be just waiting inline. They have gift shops and a food court and things going on atthe studio.

    “We got to our seats finally, and they aired old clips of the showwith contestants doing the funny things they do when they getcalled up or win,” Hines continued. “And they had people runningthrough the crowd trying hype up the audience.”

    Hines said she had no idea her name was going to be called.

    She said the family’s reaction to her name being called at thestart of the show was “pure shock.” They both thought the wholething was a dream.

    “In terms of getting on there, once I started playing, I stillthought it was a dream,” she said. “I really don’t know how I wasgetting any numbers. All the lights in your face and the sounds. Iwas just thinking the whole time, ‘This is not real.'”

    She said getting to talk with Drew Carey, comedian and host of theshow, was an awesome part of the experience.

    “He’s (Carey) really nice and a very humorous person,” she said.”He did a lot of talking during the commercials. He really gets toknow the contestants and the crowd. He wanted to know what I do fora living, and when I told him I was a school principal, he said,’Oh, God bless you. You have to work with little children.'”

    Because of confidentiality agreements with the show, Hines is notallowed to discuss any outcomes of the show. In fact, she hasn’tbeen able to say much to her friends or anyone else since theshow’s taping on June 27.

    “Yeah, I’ve had to keep quiet for a while now,” she said. “Myfriends find it hard to believe at first when I tell them. I’m justglad I can finally tell people now.”

    Although Hines is not allowed to be a contestant on the show foranother 10 years, she said her son did so well at the acting campthat his spot has been reserved for next year.

    Plans are being made to attend the game show again next year.

    “My husband is going to try to get on for sure,” she said. “AndI’ll go again with him just for the experience of being there. Itwas a lot of fun.”