Celebrating our young people is a key element of what we try to do here! We love arts and sports and you get to see plenty of that between the Muskegon Channel and our sister channel, Channel 96 Muskegon. We're really proud of the coverage we can provide as we grow and it's a lot easier to find the "flashy" stuff that's for sure, but academics should be celebrated as well and up in Red Devil country, the Holton Quiz Bowl Team has won their way to the national competition in Atlanta and they could use a little support in helping the team get there.
Academic stars in any school are to be honored and acknowledged equally to the traditional school "super stars". In fact, since I am lucky enough to be around some teachers, there are times in today's schools that kids who you and I might never thought would have fit in are actually becoming more of the "cool kids" because they are in to just being individuals. It's a pretty remarkable thing to see people who are younger embracing the idea that not everyone has to be form fitting to be the "it" kid. Our differences make us all unique, if we were all the same, think about the boring life it would be. In Holton, the community is really rallying behind these young people for their wisdom, knowledge and even strategy. As we were talking with the advisors a little after taping, the Holton Quiz Bowl Team works hard on their selections for players. They seek out members who might have special knowledge in certain areas and to have a ringer on the team that might know more than the average guy about sports or a gal who's super smart at geography or history....it is a competition after all. 
Help Send the Red Devils to Atlanta!
The competition in Atlanta is hosted by National Academic Quiz Tournaments which was founded in 1996. From their website - " NAQT’s writers and editors consistently provide accurate, original, and interesting questions on academic subjects and general knowledge. The quality of those questions draws teams from across the nation and around the world to compete at our annual championships. We are proud to promote an activity that glorifies learning, expands horizons, and rewards teamwork". It's a volunteer based organization and the costs the Holton team is looking to cover is for their transportation and lodging while they are away representing us in Georgia. This is a first time accomplishment for Holton with the State Championship! An accomplishment of the highest magnitude! I was able to sit down and meet the team to learn a little more about Quiz Bowl in 2022, how they have worked to get here, what's still needed to make the trip happen and how we can all help. Meet Joslin Vanderboegh, Faith Hale, Robert Norton, Jaxon Thiele, Bradley DeVries, Kylie Rickle, Aiden Hippler and Cameron Edgerton. They are the team headed for the big show in the world of Quiz Bowl!
A trip like this as part of the learning experience is a very important part of an education. Like any other extra curricular activity, to participate in the Quiz Bowl takes time, dedication preparation and as you heard, there's no free ride. Kids have been collecting pennies, working on can drives they have the Culver's Dine Out evening coming up at the location on Harvey Street in Muskegon and they have the GoFundMe. If you can pitch in a little to help please do. It's a chance for our young people to see a little bigger world than what they are used to. It's a chance to let them shine among the best in the country and it's a chance to show them the belief of their community supports their endeavors and future! On Holton! We're rooting for ya!
