(Note: This story appears in the November 2021 issue of ED Magazine)
The smack talking had been going on for years. Everybody knew it would come to a head one day. An office showdown was in the cards. There could only be one winner. So on a recent Friday afternoon the two combatants prepared for battle.
In one corner was ED Publisher Don Waitt.
And in the other corner was ED Sales Director Kris Kay.
At stake? The claim to the title of the top movie trivia expert in the office.
Both competitors are movie aficionados. There is no doubt about that. The rest of the ED office staff has rolled their eyes for years as Waitt and Kay openly, and occasionally loudly, debate the pros and cons of different movies, directors and stars.
Waitt had the advantage of more years on the planet which means more time to see more movies, many of them before Kay was even born.
Kay had the advantage of youth and a younger brain, not yet in need of Prevagen.
“I know more about movies than you do,” said Waitt “No you don’t,” said Kay.
“I’ll bet you $100 I do,” said Waitt.
“You’re on,” said Kay.
The date was picked and ED Editor and Associate Publisher Dave Manack was tasked with coming up with the questions for the first-ever ED Office Movie Trivia Contest.
Were we goofing off?
No.
The contest wouldn’t take much time, it got the rest of the ED staff excited, and it was a nice change of pace. Sometimes in every workplace a little fun, within reason, can go a long way to re-energizing your staff. You know, the whole all work and no play thing.
The weeks leading up to the contest were filled with even more smack talking, as Manack prepared the questions. The contest format was to be just like the TV show Jeopardy, with six categories, and five questions in each category. The harder the question the more points for that question.
Waitt gave Manack three categories: Mobster Movies, Leading Ladies and 1960s Movies. Kay’s three categories were 1980s Horror Movies, Science Fiction Movies and Cop Movies.
There were some special guests at the contest: Kay’s wife, Brittany, and Waitt’s daughter, Devyn.
ED marketing coordinator Danika Bruner worked the white board, marking who won or lost each question (if you guessed wrong the point value on that question was deducted from your total points). ED’s new salesperson, Caliyah Serket-Smith, kept the running score tallies. And ED AR Manager Teresa Tearno was the timekeeper and the judge on any disputes (because no one wants to argue with Teresa).
The contest lasted about an hour and was a neck-and-neck race the whole way. Who won the contest and the $100 isn’t important. What was important was that the ED crew had a short “team-building” break from putting out magazines and planning for next year’s EXPO. We had some laughs, and we were re-energized to get right back into the trenches.
P.S. Don won!
