Community Leaders Discover Their ‘Smart’ Level

Leaders in education, business and the community matched wits in the annual Crescenta Valley Chamber of Commerce/Mary Pinola Education Endowment Fund Smart-A-Thon that was held on Wednesday in the Verdugo Hills Hospital Council Room.

More than 100 people paid a $25 entry fee to participate in the day’s events, which included a silent auction, lunch and the Smart-A-Thon test, a trivia challenge that wracked the most brilliant of minds.

The afternoon’s festivities were emceed by Mike “Toyota” Smith and, from the Crescenta Valley Sheriff’s Station, Captain Tim Peters. The silliness included a visit from Dave “Elvis Presley” Drucker who had the envied duty of passing out highly-prized scarves that were hand-made by Smart-A-Thon hostess, Mary Pinola. Bidding on the multitude of donated auction baskets was suspended after lunch when it was time to get serious and undertake the trivia challenge.

Twenty-eight teams competed, with each team having a minimum of four players. Among those playing were GUSD board of education candidates Mary Boger and Elizabeth Manasserian, sheriffs from the CV station, organizers of CVHS Prom Plus and members from the Crescenta Valley and Montrose-Verdugo Chambers of Commerce.

At the end of 20 minutes, brows were wiped as the answer sheets were collected. When all answers were tallied, the top three teams were (tied for third) the student team and faculty team from Crescenta Valley High School, Leo’s All-Star Sports Bar (with much grumbling from “Mrs. Leo” — Leslie Lesh, who was on the CV Chamber team) and the newly formed Glendale Education Foundation.

Said organizer Pinola of the event, “This was the biggest turn out in all the years that we’ve held the Smart-A-Thon. We’re so lucky to have these great people come out to support us.”

Though the Glendale Education Foundation was crowned the winner of this year’s Smart-A-Thon, it is really the community that wins. Proceeds from the fundraiser benefit the Mary Pinola Education Endowment Fund, a resource for many local schools. “Every year we give money to public and private institutions. We focus on educational programs that benefit the community,” Pinola said. “We feel that it’s important to give back.”