GREENCASTLE—The Rotary Club of Waynesboro hosted the 11th “Battle of the Minds” at Green Grove Gardens the evening of September 28, 2023.
The annual event, held each fall to raise funds for local community organizations, included a silent auction, live auction, cocktail hour, a great meal, a big 50/50 and the Battle of the Minds trivia game.
“We have a great time putting this together each year”, said Chastity Wantz, Rotary Chair for Battle. “It takes a lot people working on all the pieces throughout the year to make this a terrific evening for all of our guests.”
Mike Ross, Chair of Franklin County Area Development Corporation (FCADC) was Master of Ceremonies for the 11th year.
Mike Cermak of Cermak Tech coordinated all the games and screens supporting activities.
Dawn Keller coordinated beer and wine from The Beer Shed and Rough Edges in Waynesboro.
Kaleb Hurley of Hurley Auctions led the auctions group and acted as Auctioneer for the live auction, stimulating some very competitive bidding.
Back Row, L-R: Matt Berger, Warren Hurt, Meghan Heebner, Chris Moore
The Battle game started after the Live Auction and pitted each table against others in a Trivial Pursuit-style game with multiple choice questions. When a question appeared on the screen and was read by Ross, each table had 10 seconds to choose their best answer and respond using an electronic remote.
This year, about 160 contestants at 20 tables competed in teams. The team from F&M Trust eaked out a win on a tie breaker. On the last question of the evening, they selected the winning answer one second faster than any other team to win the grand prize trophy and $800.
Earnings from the night are split 50/50 with the community co-sponsor selected by the club President and Vice-President each year. This year’s co-sponsor was Mainstreet Waynesboro. Although the final tally is not yet in for this year, revenues for each Battle range between $14,000 and $26,000.
