Arnold Police Officers Association president Kevin Wilson continues to be amazed by the support the group receives for its annual trivia night.
More than 400 people attended the fifth annual Back the Blue Trivia Night on March 21 at the Arnold Eagles Club.
The APOA collected approximately $50,000 from the evening that featured 42 teams of eight participating in the 10-round trivia contest, raffles for more than 20 baskets, five gun raffles and a 50/50 drawing.
“It keeps getting better,” said Wilson, who is an Arnold Police officer and a school resource officer at Fox High School. “We sold out within 24 hours this year. It is incredible to see the support that people give us each and every year. It means a lot that people continue to support us. We received a lot of positive feedback of people loving the event.”
Wilson said volunteers for the evening included: members of the APOA; representatives from the Capt. David Dorn Foundation, which provides first responder agencies with equipment that the agencies may not be able to buy because of budget restraints; Jefferson College Law Enforcement Academy recruits; and members of the Arnold Police Explorers program.
He also said Fox High School staff members volunteered as judges for the trivia contest.
“With the amount of volunteers we had come out, it made this one feel very smooth,” Wilson said. “It is more than just a trivia night. It brings everyone together to support a great cause.”
The team of Joe Saputo, Jaime Saputo, Joanna Richter, Julie Casalone, Michael Shular, Chad Casalone, Mike Katich and Debi Katich won the trivia contest by answering 88 of the 100 questions correctly. Each team member received a medal, $50 cash and a bottle of Syberg’s wing sauce.
Wilson said there was a two-way tie for second place with each of those teams answering 80 questions correctly. He said a second-place winner was declared by that team predicting how many correct answers the squad would get correct before the contest started.
He said the second-place team won bags of Dum Dum suckers and each member received a $25 gift card to Syberg’s restaurant. He said the third-place team won bags of Airheads candy and each member received $10 gift cards to Chick-fil-A.
Wilson also said the team that finished last received boxes of Ding Dongs.
Michele Lawrence won the 50/50 drawing, taking home $1,046.
Wilson said the APOA altered its trivia contest slightly this year, adding a jelly bean tasting round. He said players had to guess 10 flavors of Jelly Belly jelly beans.
“We got a lot of positive feedback (on the jelly bean tasting round),” Wilson said. “I was worried it was going to be too easy, but apparently, it was too hard. We tried to make it more interactive this year.”
Proceeds from the event are used to fund the APOA’s Shop with a Hero Program, which is when area first responders accompany children during a Walmart shopping spree for Christmas; the organization’s benevolent fund, which provides financial support to families of first responders who is injured or sick; and other community projects the nonprofit police organization does through the year.
Members of the Arnold Police Department, Rock Community Fire Protection District, Rock Township Ambulance District and Jefferson County 911 Dispatch shopped with 151 children during last year’s Shop with a Hero event. Each child received a $100 gift card to shop at the Arnold Walmart.
The APOA also uses the money to pay for Popsicles in the Park, when officers give away free popsicles one day a week in June and July at Arnold City Park, and for other community events.
“We also donate to the Gateway Food Pantry, and we would like to incorporate more community outreach to families during the holiday,” Wilson said. “We would like to add more children to Shop with a Hero and work with other organizations in our area to see how we can help them during the holidays.”
The APOA’s next schedule fundraising event will be its annual car and bike show that is held in September during Arnold Days. For information, go to apoamo.org.
