From the Stevens Point Journal April 6, 2006:

Are you ready for some trivia?

Organizers scramble to get everything set for Friday

By Kelli Knudsen
Journal staff

To participants of 90 FM's Trivia 2006: The Odd Contest, this weekend is about having fun with friends and family while testing their knowledge of useless facts.

For University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point students working behind the scenes, though, the trivia contest is an exciting real world experience they can't get in a classroom setting.

Photo: Kitt Burroughs, a WWSP 90FM executive staff member, assists Jeremy Runyan as he purchases trivia merchandise at the radio station on the UWSP campus Wednesday afternoon. DOUG WOJCIK/STEVENS POINT JOURNAL

Promotions director Joe Williams is a senior communications major emphasizing in public relations. His job offers him a rare opportunity as a college student to promote an event that gains international attention.

"It's pretty cool," Williams said. "I didn't think there would be much interest out of Wisconsin, or even the county."

Williams has been setting up radio spots on stations all over the country and has even received a call from a station in Ontario, Canada.

Even for students who are not communication majors, working on the trivia contest is educational. "It's a fun way to learn business skills, and it's a trivia contest, so it adds an element of silliness to it," said Kitt Burroughs, sponsorship director and a junior political science major.

Station executive staff members have been working since January to prepare for this weekend by raising money, getting food from local businesses to feed the phone operators, doing exchanges with businesses that have marquees to put trivia promotions on their signs, making on-air promotions and recruiting community and student volunteers.

"It's getting word out enough to generate buzz and drum up enthusiasm," Burroughs said.

The week before the contest is hectic because last-minute preparations are needed, and thousands of people are registering to participate.

"This is the most intense week of preparation. Being here is important," Burroughs said.

And they have been there. Most haven't been keeping track of their hours, but Burroughs estimates she's put in between four and eight hours each day.

Almost 100 students will volunteer this weekend when the alumni association and other organizations are taken into account, said station manager Jon Henseler. In addition to the students, about 30 community volunteers also are slated to help out with the contest.

"About everyone on staff helps out for trivia," Burroughs said.

Executive staff members are paid, but they work more than their salaried hours for the contest -- and they don't receive credit hours toward their degree. Many full-time students also are juggling the contest with classes and jobs.

With so much of their time being devoted to the radio station since preparations for the contest started in January, radio executives admitted their school work has been pushed to the back burner for now.

"I haven't skipped a class for trivia yet, but I have been slacking on school work," Williams said.

He also asked a professor if he would be able to skip class on Monday so he could catch up on the sleep he won't get this weekend. Williams said the teacher only agreed because the professor used to work for the trivia contest and he knows what it's like.