IHSSBCA Banquet 2011

IHSSBCA held its 6th Annual Banquet on April 16 at the Circus Room at Illinois State University. We honored the Hall of Famers, Rob Grierson Friend of Scholastic Bowl, All-State Teams, Team Illinois, and State Champions. The evening started with a short speech by IHSSBCA Founder Rob Grierson, who talked about how our students learn about history today and that today’s current events will some day be a part of the history studied in the future.

The first Hall of Fame inductee was Gene Kruse, who drove in from Nebraska for the occasion and was introduced by Hall of Famer Jerry Vandemark. Gene talked about the lessons he learned from students while coaching for many years at Bradley-Bourbonnais and some of the tournaments he ran when he coached. In addition to coaching some of the best teams in Illinois during the ’80s and ’90s, Gene played an instrumental role writing questions and hosting tournaments when Scholastic Bowl was going through an enormous period of growth — when it was first recognized by the IHSA as a competitive high school activity. Gene was selected by our Hall of Fame Veterans Committee.

The second Hall of Fame inductee was Nick Pitz, who was introduced by Hall of Famer Rob Grierson. Nick talked about some of the teams he was proud to coach, including diverse teams from Moline that often performed well at the State level and the national championships he brought home while coaching Team Illinois. Nick also coached a team to a Masonic State Championship and has played an important role on the IHSSBCA Steering Committee for many years.

The third Hall of Fame inductee was David Riley, who was introduced by former student and current IHSSBCA Steering Committee Member Matt Laird. David talked about some of his most memorable experiences and students he worked with. David served for many years as Chair of the IHSSBCA, and his Loyola teams have been among the best in Illinois since he started coaching in 1993. Loyola Academy is taken seriously at the national level, and David has played an important role in improving the activity in our state so that it is now at a national caliber. David has also hosted more tournaments than anyone can count even using both hands and both feet.

The fourth Hall of Fame inductee was Dennis Scobbie, who was introduced by his longtime assistant coach Patsy Allen. Dennis talked about some of the memorable wrong answers his students gave over the years and what it has been like to work with many good students over a long period of time. In recent years, Dennis’ Litchfield teams have been among the best in Illinois, capable of beating teams from much larger schools.

David Riley then presented the Rob Grierson Friend of Scholastic Bowl plaque to the University of Illinois Academic Buzzer Team, which was represented at the Banquet by long-time member Donald Taylor. The UIUC ABT was awarded the honor for the contributions many of its members have given over a long period of time to high school Scholastic Bowl in Illinois.

Matt Laird introduced the All-State Team, most of whom were in attendance. Matt described why each student present had impressed the All-State Selection Committee.

Coaches David Riley and Mike Laudermith talked about Team Illinois, which will compete against teams from many states at the University of Maryland in June. David and Mike are very optimistic for this year, because our Illinois team, which took third place last year, returns intact.

Dale Thayer, Tournament Director of the Masonic Academic Bowl, spoke about his efforts in running it and how it has grown over the years. He received a heartfelt ovation to show the appreciation Scholastic Bowl students, coaches, and parents have for the overwhelming generosity showered on us by the Masons each year.

Noah Prince, the IMSA coach, then talked about how much his team improved over the course of the year and how hard they worked, earning IMSA’s first State Championship in many years. Dr. Prince called for the Scholastic Bowl community to unite around its successes.