Cranford Fund for Educational Excellence Raises $30K for Cranford Public Schools at 8th Annual Trivia Night Proceeds to fund grants for innovation and excellence in Cranford classrooms for 2025- ‘26 school year
The 8th Annual Trivia Night, recently held on February 22 at the Kenilworth VFW, and organized by the Cranford Fund for Educational Excellence (CFEE) 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- ‘26 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 schools superintendent Dr. 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 celeb, 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 90’s 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” who took home 1st place and will be featured on a billboard in downtown Cranford this spring plus get their 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.Ameet “Mortadella” Doshi.) The team, “CranGPT” took home the 2nd place prize. (Christine DelRe, Matt DelRe, Christine Bove, Justin Bove, Beth Rees, Shaun Rees, Jen Lenza, Chris Lenza, Claire Cooper ,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 3rd 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, 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, 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, Lori Talbot) and Best Dressed, “Rockin’ Quizards” (Jaclyn Horbal, Jen Shah, Marisa Wilhelm, Matt DeLorenzo, Sheryl DeLorenzo, Kevin Kelly, Nicole Kelly,John Forsman,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. If you’d like more information or would like to contribute to CFEE’s efforts, please visit cranfordfund.org.