CRANFORD, NJ — The eighth annual Trivia Night, which was on Wednesday, Feb. 22, at the Kenilworth VFW and organized by the Cranford Fund for Educational Excellence, raised $30,000 to benefit Cranford public school students, thanks to the support of sponsors as well as parents and community members who took part in the lively event.
More than 250 people attended Trivia Night, with 27 teams competing and E34 Events providing the musical backdrop for the high-spirited contest. It was an evening of laughter, elation, high-fives, hugs and, toward the end of the evening, dancing in the aisles.
All proceeds from the event will be awarded as grants for the 2025-2026 school year to Cranford teachers who are seeking new ways to engage and educate their students. CFEE grants have funded everything from robotics and 3D printers to math learning kits, website access, STEM education tools and more.
“When I think of Cranford, this is what I think about – people coming together for the common good to help support each other,” said Cranford Superintendent Scott Rubin, addressing the crowd at the event. “Give yourselves a nice round of applause for helping to support (CFEE’s efforts),” he added.
CFEE board member Karen Bennett served as the evening’s emcee and presented eight rounds of challenging questions devised by a board committee led by trivia masters Barry Horbal and Robert Lukenda. Bernie Wagenblast, resident Cranford celebrity, who hosts Cranford Radio and was formerly the voice of Shadow Traffic for WABC and 1010 WINS, kicked off the night presenting the “Americana” category. Teams were also asked to take the “written exam,” which had them guessing the correct name of Cranford parks based on photos. The category to “finish the ’90s lyrics” rounded out the night and had everyone in the crowd singing “Genie in a Bottle” and “Kiss From A Rose.” This year’s event welcomed new teams including the “CFEE All Stars,” composed of Cranford teachers and past grant winners, and returning teams the Red Hot Trivia Peppers, Saucy Hooligans and The Sherlock Holmies.
An A+ for sponsors
CFEE is a Cranford-based nonprofit foundation that supports excellence and innovation in the Cranford public schools by generating resources through community involvement, and Trivia Night is the organization’s signature annual event. Funds were raised from team entry fees, 50/50 raffle and sponsorships. CFEE proudly featured 41 businesses and families who supported the event with sponsorships ranging from $150 to $5,000 going to the top sponsors:
“Principal” Sponsor: MWT Builders
“Facilities Director” Sponsors: Beyond Dance, Lincoln Investment Planning and the Cranford Jaycees
“Academic Dean” Sponsors: Keating Physical Therapy, Lukenda Dental, ProCare Rehabilitation, Cranford Women’s Club, NJ Family Medical, Schuster Family Orthodontics and A&W Chiropractic
Winning teams ace the test
Congratulations to team “Trivial Prosciutto,” which took home first place and will be featured on a billboard in downtown Cranford this spring, plus get its own limited edition ice cream flavor at Cranford Vanilla Bean Creamery – Antonio “Soppressata ” Pugliese, Fran “Finocchiona” Pugliese, Jeff “Guanciale” Samson, Kirsten “Cappacuolo” Samson, Meghan “Gabagool” Masiulis, Keith “Cured Meat” Masiulis, Meryl “Focaccia” Futey, Ricky “Ribeye” Schwerdt, Kim “Corned Beef” O’Malley and Ameet “Mortadella” Doshi.
The team, “CranGPT,” took home the second-place prize – Christine DelRe, Matt DelRe, Christine Bove, Justin Bove, Beth Rees, Shaun Rees, Jen Lenza, Chris Lenza, Claire Cooper and Ryan Cooper.
The trivia scores were close, making it anyone’s trophy for the taking, but a tiebreaker showdown at the end helped determine the third-place title, which was claimed by the “Harvard Road Scholars” – Jason McComb, Krista Swanson, Scott Swanson, Chrissy Lukenda, Dave Towne, Ali Holstein, Pete Shayer, Leah Shayer and Alicia Bitondo. All winners walked away with bragging rights and a coveted lawn sign to display proudly.
There was no contest when it came to the Spirit Award winners, who showed up to take home the glory: Class Clowns, “Pajama Day” – John Brereton, Mary Brereton, Ben Cohen, Kristin Cohen, Christian Decker, Liz Decker, Patrick Kelly, Viktoriya Kelley, Dave Waring and Jillian Waring; Most Team Spirited, “Cranford Smartini Sisters” – Asavari Alvarez, Nicole Cippoletti, Sarah Clark, Dinah Dunn, Christine Esposito, Sue Leahy, Jenn Messina, Helen Niblock, Chrissie Shivers and Lori Talbot; and Best Dressed, “Rockin’ Quizards” – Jaclyn Horbal, Jen Shah, Marisa Wilhelm, Matt DeLorenzo, Sheryl DeLorenzo, Kevin Kelly, Nicole Kelly, John Forsman and Cathy Mannarino.
Since 2016, CFEE has awarded more than $350,000 in grants in categories such as differentiated or personalized education, technology integration and 21st-century skills, innovation zones/makerspaces and classroom design. For more information or to contribute to CFEE’s efforts, visit cranfordfund.org.
Photos Courtesy of Jenn McComb