Trivia Night for Three Rivers Endowment Trust set for Feb. 28

Gather friends and put your heads together to test your knowledge at the sixth annual Three Rivers Endowment Trust Trivia Night.

The event will begin at 6 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 28, at the Holiday Inn in Poplar Bluff. Doors are scheduled to open at 5 p.m. with dinner served.

The purpose of the evening will be anything but trivial by raising funds to benefit scholarships at Three Rivers College.

“A few years ago, the committee decided to begin the endowment of a scholarship with a portion of the proceeds each year,” TRC Director of Development Michelle Reynolds said. “We never touch the principal of our endowed scholarships, so the event will assist students for perpetuity.”

The Black & Gold Scholarship will fulfill any emergency needs of students, such as lack of funds or “falling through the cracks,” Reynolds added.

All scholarship funds are granted with the approval of a committee of the Three Rivers Endowment Trust, based on the recommendations of staff.

“We do have similar events in some of our other communities to assist with scholarships, so most of these funds are granted to students within the four county taxing district,” Reynolds said. “We hope to fully fund the scholarship this year so we can begin making awards, but we will continue to grow the fund to allow us to make more grants over time.”

Now in its sixth year, the event continues to grow and will be at a new location, the Poplar Bluff Holiday Inn.

This year will also feature a new emcee for the event, Trustee Eric Schalk, who is sure to make the event fun for all, Reynolds said.

Teams of six have until Wednesday, Feb. 20, to get registered for $120 to be in the running for Trivia Night champs. If space allows, teams may register after the deadline.

“We usually have 15-20 teams at the event,” Reynolds said. “If someone wants to play, but doesn’t have a team, they can reach out to myself or another committee member and we will try to connect them to others looking to fill a team.”

Categories slated for Trivia Night are not being revealed ahead of time, but will all have a common connection at the end of each round. The team that has the most connections at the end of the evening will win a prize.

Dinner will also be included in the price of team registration provided by Imo’s Pizza as well as snacks and a cash bar throughout the evening.

Anyone not able to attend Trivia Night, but would still like to support the scholarship fund may do so by becoming a round sponsor for $100. Sponsors are recognized on social media, in the presentation and on the scorecards for that round.

“We only have 10 spaces, since we have 10 rounds,” Reynolds said. “It’s a great way to market a business and also support the event.”

Everyone will also have the opportunity to win larger raffle items compared to years past.

Four items will be raffled off at the event including a Pelican cooler, folding wagon, night stay at Indian Hills Bed & Breakfast and a Lenny and Eva bracelet.

Raffle tickets are currently on sale for $5 each or five tickets for $20 by contacting Reynolds at 573-840-9077 or michellereynolds@trcc.edu. Tickets are also available at the Office of Student Accounts on the first floor of the Westover Administration Building from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday or at Trivia Night.

“We will draw at the Trivia Night and plan to Facebook live the drawing, so there’s no need to be present to win,” Reynolds said.

TRC Assistant Professor of Speech Communication Margaret Orlando has spearheaded Trivia Night since its inception and is described as the “heart and soul” of the event.

In addition to Trivia Night, she also assists in similar events throughout TRC’s service region.

“She is the go-to,” Reynolds said.

Several factors went into Orlando’s idea of Three Rivers Endowment Trust hosting a Trivia Night including past bonding experiences, not many opportunities in Poplar Bluff to play trivia and wanting to combine all her skills into planning an event.

“Most importantly, as I continued to serve my students through teaching, I started to become aware of my students who were falling through the cracks of financial aid,” Orlando said. “The students who make average grades, had parents that make middle-class wages, or they themselves make middle-class wages are the ones who are hard-working, yet receive little assistance to advance themselves.”

Not many scholarships or federal programs exist for the student who lives in that middle ground, she added.

“Our goal is to get the Black & Gold Scholarship endowed in order to make a lasting impact on our student community,” Orlando said.

Along with Orlando, several staff members comprise the committee including Leslie Gragg, Lee Ann Wesemann, Gina Cagle, Gregory Snell and Carrie Franklin.

“It’s very rewarding to work with a group of faculty and staff so invested in assisting our students in financial need,” Reynolds said.

Everyone involved with Trivia Night promises a fun time among teams in addition to a little friendly competition between all the participants.

“To me, it’s like watching Jeopardy,” Reynolds said. “There are some things you just happen to know and then there are some questions where you have absolutely no idea.”

Orlando promises for participants to be challenged in a fun, interesting way.

Not only does Trivia Night support scholarships for TRC students, but it also gives people the opportunity to come out and have a good time while learning about the college.

“Trivia Night might be a small event for the college,” Orlando said, “but in the grand scheme of things, I know that it’s an opportunity to help our student community while at the same time bringing some entertainment into our lives.”