GREENCASTLE – Waynesboro’s Rotary Club hosted the 12th annual “Battle of the Minds” at Green Grove Gardens on Sept. 26. An evening of fellowship, food and fun was highlighted by charity auctions and the night’s main event: a highly anticipated trivia competition.
Twenty-eight teams competed for a first-place cash prize and to earn top bragging rights for mastering a gauntlet of challenging facts and figures. But the biggest winner was Waynesboro’s Volunteer Fire Department, the event co-sponsor that will receive half the night’s proceeds.
The evening began with a cocktail hour featuring an artistic appetizer spread. Leaders from local businesses and civic organizations hobnobbed with other Franklin County citizens, revisiting old friendships while sizing up their competitors. A proud group from F&M Trust appeared, poised to defend their 2023 trivia championship. The Greencastle venue’s open floorplan was arranged with festive circular tables, where eight-person teams would dine together and later test their skills.
Two large side tables, filled with silent auction items, tempted the crowd. Local charities, businesses and individuals donated various products and services. Groups such as Buttonwood Nature Center offered gift baskets and other goodies. Author John Poniske donated a selection of his books, and Rough Edges Brewery sponsored a beer tasting and dinner for four. A friendly competition ensued to see whose winning bid took home these items and other unique treasures.
Franklin County Area Development Corporation President Mike Ross moderated the event, showing his good-natured humor while reminding attendees to keep the evening’s main agenda in clear focus: to give generously while competing in a friendly atmosphere.
Many Waynesboro volunteer firefighters were present, some dressed in handsome Class A uniforms. Volunteer spokeswoman Lori Depies introduced the firefighting leadership, which included Fire Chief John Beck and President Mike Bock. “We’re very grateful the Rotary Club selected us as a co-sponsor,” Depies said. “An incredible amount of work went into this event, and it will be a great evening.”
The Volunteer Fireman’s Youth Department also attended. This mentored local firefighting group represents the area’s public safety future as they learn to value service over self. The young members sold glow sticks that guests fashioned into necklaces. Later, a survival game based on predicting a heads/tails coin toss whittled down these glowing-necked guests to a single lucky contestant who won $400.
After dinner, a professional auctioneer hosted the live auction program. He skillfully worked the crowd, cajoling higher bids on big-ticket items. Guests waved hands to win a beach trip to Ocean City, Md., a gourmet German dinner for eight prepared by a local chef, a Warehouse Cinema movie night for 40 (with unlimited popcorn), and a hunting trip, among other auction offerings.
The main event started at 8:20. Moderator Ross explained the rules and procedures for the electronic trivia game. Each table wielded a remote-control clicker to record their answers, and every team selected a captain with the quickest trigger finger. Four rounds with ten questions each featured four multiple-choice answer possibilities. Contestants were required to choose the correct answer within 10 seconds, so quickness was paired with knowledge. Faster answers earned higher points. The anxious crowd quieted as the game commenced.
A slate of challenging questions tested team knowledge of obscure facts — like the total number of miles in the Texas road system (684,000) — and current events — such as the vehicle name that delivered now-stranded astronauts to the International Space Station (Boeing Starliner). Also asked were traditional general-knowledge brainteasers based on art, science, sports and history categories.
At the end of round 1, the teams were tightly bunched, with the Local News 1 squad named the “Eight-ballers” holding a slim lead. That team retained first place at the competition’s halfway mark.
The contestants witnessed a pivotal turn on a second-half sports question when teams could wager up to 80 percent of their accumulated score. The question: how many total players on the field during a Lacrosse game? The answer: 20. One team was supremely confident in their sports knowledge and made a daring bet. The crowd gasped when the Waynesboro Apothecary sponsored “Kilograms” correctly answered and leap-frogged from seventh place to take a commanding lead.
The Kilograms led the remainder of the trivia contest, winning with 312 points. While the other 28 teams chased, none could catch them. The Eight-ballers finished second with 237 points, and “Home Sweet Home” rounded out the top three teams earning 216.
After the winning team clinched the 2024 trivia title, they took the stage for the award presentation. Hoisting a giant trophy, the group introduced themselves as the new owners of the Savage and Antietam Pharmacies in Waynesboro. Their new business, renamed Waynesboro Apothecary, officially opens Sept. 30. It will combine the two former pharmacies at the Savage location at 604 E. Main Street.
The championship team donated their $800 prize money to the Volunteer firefighters. “We are a community-based business,” co-owner Rob Norris said afterward, “so we were happy to donate to such a worthy organization.”
Battle of the Minds Treasurer Eric Holtzman was pleased with the event. “We had a wonderful turnout, with about 250 people attending. We’re thankful to all the generous people in our community who donated items or won bids.” Holtzman said the official proceeds haven’t been tallied yet, but typically more than $20,000 is raised and split between Waynesboro’s Rotary Club and their yearly co-sponsor.
The Rotary Club chapter in Waynesboro has operated as a civic-minded organization for more than 100 years. Those wishing to learn more may visit the club’s website (rotaryclubofwaynesboro.org) to learn more about its upcoming weekly lunches or membership opportunities.
Next year’s Battle of the Minds co-sponsor will be announced by the club later. But many trivia buffs are already anticipating next year’s contest, when charitable minds converge again to benefit the community while testing their worldly knowledge.
