Steeleville team wins Randolph County's Amazing Race
They ate raw spinach out of the can, bowled with a tire, assembled nuts and bolts - among other challenges - and at the end, "5 Jokers in a Jeep" won the Amazing Race around Randolph County last Saturday.
The Steeleville team of Clint Wittenborn, Angie Wittenborn, Gail Lacy, Karen Hepp and Joel Hepp finished with 47 points, beating out runner-up "Veni Vidi Vici" (Darla Porter, Vance Porter, Danette Miller and Bart Miller) by three points.
"The favorite was probably the redneck bowling, but the most entertaining, I thought, was the spinach," said Randolph County CEO class facilitator April Nail, referring to the challenge at Chester's Cohen Home. "They loved all the challenges. We wanted the goal to be that any skill level could do it.
"There wasn't anything truly physical that could limit any of teams."
The race, which was a fundraiser for the Randolph County CEO class, was inspired by "The Amazing Race," the long-running CBS game show that follows teams of contestants around the world as they compete unique tasks for the chance at the grand prize of $1 million.
Teams on the TV show also take home smaller prizes by winning each "leg" of the race, while teams that finish last are progressively eliminated.
In addition to Chester, Randolph County's version featured main stops at the Sparta Fairgrounds (layup, free throw, 3-pointer and half court shot), Steeleville Village Hall (redneck bowling) and Cedar Hill Farms (assembling nuts and bolts) in Red Bud.
There were also two bonus stops in Ruma (cornhole competition) and the Steeleville Eagles (miniature golf) for extra points.
"There were several teams with team shirts and that never even entered our mind," Nail said. "In the future, there is a possibility for an award for best-themed team."
Two teams - "Team Awesome" (Shane Helvey, April Ruebke, Annah Helvey-Ahring and Sherrill Deere) and "The Blockensteins" (Margo Block, Dave Sauerwen, Becca Byrd and Mark Byrd) - tied for third place with 41 points, and a human wheelbarrow race broke the tie in favor of Team Awesome.
Prizes were hidden in wrapped boxes. The first-place team got to choose which box they wanted.
Then the second-place team did the same and third place got what was left. First place won a Spartan Light cooler bag filled with soda, chips, and candy.
Second place won Memorial Hospital mini-cooler bags, tervis cups and regular cups. Third place took home a picture frame filled with gift cards to local businesses.
In a classy act, 9-year-old Helvey-Ahring gave some of her gift cards to The Blockensteins team.
At the end of the event, teams were treated to a dinner by the Season's Event Center at the World Shooting and Recreational Complex and a performance by the band "The Lost Dogs."
"I think people had a great time," Nail said. "People stuck around until the very end and the feedback I got was if they do this again, it would get an overwhelming response."
The event was conceived by the CEO class members as a class project.
"There's only five of them this year, so they all had to strategize and plan and they did it all," Nail said. "They took ownership in it. They had a couple of hiccups along the way and they worked through that."
Nail, was asked about the future of the event next year. A new facilitator, Jamie Matthews - who is also the facilitator for the Monroe County CEO class - will direct Randolph County's class in the fall.
"I'm not going to be the facilitator next year and I think it's going to be up to each individual class," Nail said. "Jamie Matthews will be the facilitator next year and she also teaches the Monroe County CEO class.
"From my understanding, she's going to teach the Monroe County CEO program in the morning and Randolph County in the afternoon."
Nail added that applications for the facilitator position are still being accepted until March 5.
"Kids from all the different schools come together and be a family in the end," Nail said on her favorite memories of working with the CEO program. "It's interesting to see that no matter what their backgrounds are, they really do become a little family and they support each other when they might not normally have that interaction with other kids."