Palatine H.S. Pirate Peter Trivia Night to support Ray Mills Fund

Annual trivia event proceeds to support students in need

Submitted by PHS Pirate Boosters

Pirate Pete Trivia Night returns to Palatine High School to support the Ray Mills Fund.

The fund is named after a former Palatine High School teacher and counselor who regularly went out of his way to help students in need. The fund, established in Mills' honor, has fulfilled a wide range of student needs at Palatine High School including school and project supplies, sports physicals for athletes, nutritious snacks, graduation gown rental fees, and so much more.

To support this fund, Pirate Pete Trivia Night will be held on Friday, April 7, starting at 7 p.m. in the Palatine High School cafeteria, 1111 N. Rohlwing Road. Tables are $50 for a team of up to eight players, and all are welcome to participate including teachers, students and community members. Registration can be completed online at www.phs.d211.org. In addition to the trivia game, the evening includes raffles, a 50/50 drawing, pizza and soda.

Free child care will be offered in the Palatine High School Pirate Preschool room, supervised by student volunteers from the Palatine High School National Honor Society. Chris Smith is the trivia event chairman and will serve as the master of ceremonies for the fundraiser again this year.

There will be two divisions, each with a first place prize of $200, a second place prize of $100, and a third place prize of $50. The divisions will be separated along age lines. If at least half of the team is comprised of high school aged players (or younger), the team qualifies for the Scarlet division. No Scarlet team can have more adults than high school or younger players. The Grey division is available to teams with larger numbers of adults.

All of last year's top three teams, from both age divisions, are scheduled to return to this year's event. The adult division winners in 2016 were Otis and Friends led by Captain Jim O'Keefe, Boom Goes the Dynamite led by Captain Mike Comerford, and Adrenaline Sports Management led by Captain Aaron Delmar. The top three student division teams in 2016 were Captain Crunch and the Cereal Killers led by Captain Riley O'Grady, Team Esoteric led by Captain Brian Lu, and Viking Funeral Redux led by Captain Ryan Hall.

"In tough times like these we have seen an increased need and we are hopeful that this event will help us replenish the fund and continue to provide support to our needy kids," said Nicki O'Keefe, the Ray Mills Fund chairman and chemistry teacher.

Ray Mills started at Palatine High School in 1946, and worked at the school as a teacher, counselor, and eventually the director of guidance at the school until his retirement in 1976. When Mills passed away in 1983, the Ray Mills Fund was established and administered by the Palatine High School Very Interested Parents (VIP) Club, now the PHS Pirate Boosters. At the time the fund was established, Palatine High School Principal Leonard Newendorp was quoted in a Chicago Tribune article, explaining that Mills started a loan fund in the guidance office for "kids who forgot their lunch money, a tuxedo that quietly appeared when a student needed one for the prom" and many other student needs. This quiet generosity lives on through the fund, helping fulfill the needs of many students at Palatine High School and is a fitting tribute to the Ray Mills legacy.

For information on Pirate Pete Trivia Night, visit www.phs.d211.org and select the Trivia Night link or contact Nicki O'Keefe at nokeefe@d211.org.

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