HILL AIR FORCE BASE – Airman involvement is Project One’s first line of engagement and that is exactly what Hill’s first Trivia Night provided at the Airman Recreation Center June 14.
More than 60 Team Hill members were treated to Chinese Kitchen food, provided by the Hill Chief’s Group, and an evening of fun with spirited competition as 45 teams answered trivia questions that ended in a three-team tie and forced overtime questions.
Each winner received a $10 AAFES gift card and everyone attending received a ticket to win the evening’s raffle prize, a $40 AAFES gift card.
Event organizer Master Sgt. Bekki Swank, 75th Security Forces Squadron, said Trivia Night brought members from all over the installation together to build connectedness in a setting that wasn’t work-related or felt forced.
“Our intention was to give another kid-friendly, fun way to relax, open up and test the brain with trivia questions,” she said.
The questions came from a variety of subjects with the main theme of being fun.
“I pick questions from across all category spectrums,” Swank said. “They’re basic, fun questions I find from different internet sources like sports, military, women’s history, crime and even Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader.”
Swank and Chief Master Sgt. Regina Bailey, also with 75th SFS used to put on a monthly trivia night while stationed in Guam, and brought this version over to Hill.
Swank said it’s all about providing an opportunity for people to get together and engage while fostering a connected and inclusive environment.
“I love group teamwork, so putting an event together that allows for people to meet others that they normally wouldn’t have a chance to meet is exciting,” she said. “You never know when or how a person will be brought into your life.”
Some attended the event already had their trivia partner and others paired-up on the spot for the competition.
“Trivia and food enables people to create their own teams or pick new people that they don’t know,” Swank said. “This helps bring people together for healthy competitive fun.”
Participants in this inaugural event were quite diverse coming in various age ranges and included officers, enlisted members, civilians, single people, married couples and families.
Swank said she thought Trivia Night was very successful because it accomplished the intended goal.
“It brought members together and allowed for conversation and togetherness,” she said. It opened doors for discussions and provided an opportunity to get to know new faces.”
The next Trivia Night, scheduled for 5 p.m. July 12 at the ARC, is open to all Team Hill members and will have questions that includes the younger participants.