Reitz Memorial PTO Sets Trivia Night
Reitz Memorial High School’s Parent Teacher Organization will host a trivia night at Germania Mannerchor, 916 Futon Ave., Evansville, on Oct. 20. Tickets are $15 per person, and tables will be teams of eight players. Participants must be at least 21 years old. Doors will open at 6 p.m. Central Time, and the trivia contest will begin at 7 p.m. Snacks and soft drinks will be provided free of charge, and a cash bar will be available.
The PTO hosted a trivia night in February of this year and decided to make the event an annual occurrence. The organization concluded that hosting the event in the fall would serve as a good opportunity for new members of the Reitz Memorial family to become part of the community.
“Janelle Stratman and I were discussing fundraisers for the Reitz Memorial PTO a couple of years ago after we agreed to be the new President and VP. We thought hosting a trivia night would be a lot of fun, not just for parents but for the entire Memorial community,” said Dana Blanke, trivia night co-chair and RMHS PTO President. “We borrowed the idea from our friends at Holy Trinity Catholic School in Jasper. They have had great success over the past few years and were kind enough to share their materials with us. That was a great push to get the ball rolling.”
Blanke hopes the Oct. 20 event will build on the success of the February trivia contest. “We weren't sure what the turnout would be as it was the first event of this type. We were super excited to have nearly 100 people there. There is a level of competition and trash talking among the teams – all in good fun though – that makes for a lively crowd,” she noted. “Germania has been wonderful to work with and has been very accommodating to our needs.”
“It was great to see so many parents gathered…to participate in an evening of great fun. It was truly a joy to hear much laughter and see how much people enjoyed being together,” explained Reitz Memorial Principal Dr. Marie Williams.
Al Bragin, the Master of Ceremonies and quizmaster for the February event and the upcoming fundraiser, said his job earlier this year proved to be a labor of love. “I was honored to be asked to MC the contest as well as to come up with the questions. The task of compiling the questions, and to make it entertaining, was harder than I thought. The answers to the questions had to be verified through several sources so that there would be neither confusion nor controversy. We eliminated some questions because they were too trivial,” he explained.
Bragin also offered some advice for people who want to participate in the upcoming trivia night. “Some people asked what they should study for the next Trivia Night. The answer is, study everything,” he suggested. “Of the 60 questions in the first Trivia Night, there were 10 questions specifically about Reitz Memorial High School and 10 questions specifically about Catholicism. That will be the same for the second Trivia Night. The other 40 questions were on sports, entertainment, tristate facts and stuff high schoolers should know. The next competition, on October 20th, will also include geography and time-line questions.”
To register a team for the event or to purchase a business sponsorship of a table $50, email Blanke at danablanke9@gmail.com with a list of your team members or business. Seating is limited to the first 200 people to register, but walk-ins will be welcomed if open seats remain on the day of the event. Money raised at the event will support RMHS students, teachers and staff. For more information about the RMHS PTO, please visit the Reitz Memorial website at www.reitzmemorial.org.
