Okay, trivia fans, answer me this:
Who was John Lennon's first girlfriend?
If you knew it was Thelma Pickles, (smarty pants!) then how about this one:
What's cerumen?
If you know it's earwax, then you know more than most of us did at the first annual Lyme-Old Lyme Education Foundation Trivia Bee!
The fundraiser, which was originally scheduled for last November, was finally held last night at Lyme-Old Lyme Middle School Auditorium. Twenty-six teams, each with four players apiece, competed in three rounds (actually, "swarms"). The winner of each swarm then faced off in the final.
The competition was fierce. Lyme and Old Lyme Selectmen (team name, 3-Ds and an F) matched wits against the Lyme Fire Company; artists from Lyme Art Association went head-to-head with Zelmanow Dental Stingers from East Lyme, and local librarians (The Dewey Decimal Divas) took on Lyme School Parents.
Three teams advanced to the final round. Guilford Geeniuses (Maureen Belden, Bob Tedeschi, Sam Belden, and Jeff Beatty); The Dewey Decimal Divas (Stephanie Romano, Linda Alexander, Janet Everett, Jessica Steding); and Techno-Ticks (Beth Borden, Ken Borden, Tammy Noyes, and Steve DiCarlo).
WFSB Channel 3 News Reporter Kevin Hogan, who grew up in Old Lyme, was the master of ceremonies, although Bee Keeper Mike Kane of the Lyme-Old Lyme Education Foundation spent a lot of time in the spotlight, flitting about in a bee keeper's outfit, quizzing the crowd and handing out gift certificates.
The judges were Lyme-Old Lyme's Teacher of the Year, Kinny Newman, and Middle School Principal Chris Pomroy, who wasn't afraid to show off his moves in a dance-off in the style of James Brown during one of the breaks. Anything for a good cause, right?
I'll keep you in suspense no longer. The winning team, scoring bragging rights and a pretty nifty-looking trophy was ... the Guilford Geeniuses.
The really big winner, though, was the Lyme-Old Lyme school district. With an entrance fee of $200 per team, plus raffle tickets sold at $10 apiece for some really nice prizes donated by local businesses and organizations, the entire event raised at least $6,000, all of which will be going directly to support local schools and students.
To find out more about the Lyme-Old Lyme Education Foundation, go to www.LOLEF.org.
