Puzzling questions, fun skits and a great lunch await those who take part in Smart-A-Thon.

By Charly SHELTON

“The indigenous Paiute people called this mountain Tumanguya or ‘Too-man-goo-yah,’ which means ‘the very old man.’ They believed this Great Spirit who watched over them lived here. Where is Tumanguya?”

If you answered Mt. Whitney, you have what it takes to be a part of the annual Smart-A-Thon.

The Smart-A-Thon is a fundraiser that benefits The Mary Pinola/Crescenta Valley Chamber of Commerce Education Fund. It was established as a tribute to the 1988-90 CV Chamber Honorary Mayor Mary Pinola, who worked with other community leaders to support educational programs for the Crescenta Valley residents, both during her time as president and in her personal life ever since.

“This is the 31st year [of the Smart-A-Thon],” said Chris Waldheim, a member of the Fund’s board of advisors who has been working the event for the last 15 years. “Mary [Pinola] started the event with a few friends who wanted to give back to the local schools. Those same friends are still part of the board of advisors for this fund 31 years later!”

From an initial $400 fundraiser, the Smart-A-Thon is now the main fundraiser for the Fund, which gives out approximately $20,000 each year in grants to local non-profits to help fund education-related efforts in the Crescenta Valley. Over the lifetime of the Fund, more than $257,000 has been distributed to local non-profits.

“The scholarship fund was established in June of 1990 to provide yearly distributions of monies to one or more Crescenta Valley educational programs,” said Jean Maluccio, a member of the board of advisors. “The Smart-A-Thon, where the majority of the money is raised, has come a long way since its beginning.”

While the majority of the money is raised from the Smart-A-Thon, Pinola also raises funds by walking the LA Marathon, knitting numerous scarves and selling home baked cookies by the thousands.

This year’s Smart-A-Thon will again be held at USC Verdugo Hills Hospital and paid admission includes a catered lunch, silent auction and raffle prizes. But the main event is the trivia contest with questions written by Pinola. The emcees this year will be Mike Smith of Bob Smith Toyota and Lt. Mark Slater of the CV Sheriff’s Station. There are expected to be about 35 teams participating at the March 13 event with and the top 10 highest scoring teams being announced and winning prizes. There will also be additional prizes and two $500 grants awarded to non-profits in attendance, as well as the first ever Strategic Initiative Grant that will be presented.

“The event is a fun-filled long lunch with a hospital-provided meal, a silent auction with the trivia test and lots of fun mixed in the middle,” Waldheim said.

Spots for teams and individual supporters are still available. See the ad on page 23 of this paper for more info.

  Charly Shelton