Trivia Night Article

On Saturday, November 15, Friends in Action Clubhouse in Park Hills hosted its Sixth Annual Trivia Night, and they let me be the emcee.

This was my second emcee experience, and the first one doesn’t count. It was also my first ever trivia event in any capacity. Needless to say, I was a bit nervous in the same way that Mt. Everest is a rather large pile of dirt and rock.

Turn-out was excellent, with over one hundred people in attendance. People were encouraged to bring their own food and beverages, and from my perspective on the dais, everyone looked like they were having a marvelous time.

The teams consisted of up to ten members each. We played ten rounds of ten questions, and awarded prizes for the top three teams. Two of the teams generously donated their winnings back to Friends in Action, and we couldn’t be more appreciative.

In addition to the admission revenue, including revenue donated by sponsors, we had other exciting things going on. Many generous people or groups donated gift baskets, which we raffled off during the course of the evening. We also had a Heads and Tails game that was really enjoyable once the *ahem emcee got the hang of it. There were also two game enhancers, namely the Mulligans and the Hints. Mulligans are like the free space in bingo. Teams were allowed to purchase six, and use one per round. The Hints were a new concept for this year. I picked one question per round for which to offer a hint, then offered to exchange the hint for one dollar. Every table could purchase the hint. The idea seemed to be a success.

Clubhouse members helped set up tables and chairs, sell raffle tickets, and act as runners for the answer sheets and Heads and Tails money. Having them made the evening run very smoothly. Clubhouse thanks them.

I received many compliments for delivery and for timing. Certainly, I tried to keep the time between questions consistent, and the mood light. It seemed to pay off.

Without going into details, the net revenue from this year’s event surpassed last year by just under ten percent, and we hope to do even better next year. We already have several ideas that should make it a reality.

The one thing I’m absolutely sure about is my hope that they invite me back next year. I had a blast.
-Mike G