By Mary O’KEEFE

The 33rd Annual Smart-A-Thon was held on March 14 at the USC Verdugo Hills Hospital. The event, which included lunch, trivia questions and surprises for 24 teams, is a fundraiser for the Mary Pinola/Crescenta Valley Chamber of Commerce Education Fund.

The fund was started in 1990 and since then has donated over $400,000 to local organizations that support educational programs in the Crescenta Valley. 

The event had a St. Patrick’s Day theme with Dave Winstone playing some Irish tunes to get the event started. Veterans of American Legion Post 288 led the teams in the pledge of allegiance and masters of ceremonies Mike Smith and Sgt. Ryan Vienna kept the event going. Steve Pierce, dressed in a shiny shamrock vest and cap, passed out bags of candy to many of the teams.

The Crescenta Valley High School ComedySportz team got the teams energized and then it was time for each team to answer the 60+ trivia questions. 

In the end it was the team from J’s Maintenance that took home the top prize, with ComedySportz coming in second and the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Dept./Crescenta Valley Station rounding out third place. 

“I am so grateful to everyone who participated,” said Mary Pinola, founder of the fund.