Silicon Valley Puzzle Day 2007
Last year's event was a great success and we'll be posting more of the highlights (including photos, competition winners and news coverage) here soon.
Photos
Some photos of the event: Our name in lights! Or great big letters on the Granada theater marquee at least.
It was a beautiful sunny morning at the Ann Sobrato High School Library affording us a lovely view of the hills beyond. Here Lisa (left) and Emily kick off the sudoku tournament with welcomes, thank yous and a quick listing of the rules of play. 22 people vied in these preliminary rounds for a chance at being our Sudoku champion.
American Institute of Mathematics Executive Director Brian Conrey along with his mother (who flew in from Arizona for the event and won our award for the furthest distance traveled) share a table with Morgan Hill Mayor Steve Tate for the early Sudoku rounds.
Organizing committee member Vicky (left) with four of our fabulous high school volunteers -- all wearing their official Puzzle Day shirts which were donated by Coldwell Banker.
Our marketplace was packed with fantastic books, games and toys:
Our registration desk volunteers Laura, John and Katie were all smiles, as were Yvonne and Teresa at the Friends of the Morgan Hill Library table
Lisa A and Lisa P supervise a team of student volunteers to score the Sudoku entries
Morgan Hill Library Friends President and Beyond Books Campaign Chair Carol O'Hare looks over our three fun raffle baskets
Kathy shows off her Puzzle Day shirt
Our youngest competitor:
Our keynote speaker, crossword constructor and local professor Byron Walden, discusses his puzzle with the crossword crowd -- and then spent the rest of the afternoon helping with the scoring.
Our three raffle baskets were won by David Kennedy ("Productivity? Basket"), Elizabeth Belles ("Game Basket") and George Nale ("Words and Numbers Basket").
Sudoku Finals: the three top finalists were Allan Levovitz, Dave Holmstrom and Laurel Brack. They each had to complete the final puzzle in front of the whole room
Allan Lebovitz was our champion!
Crossword Finals: the three top finalists (from the field of 28 competitors) were Laurel Brock, Yoshie Pilacinski and Arian Sarris
Local student Julie Sullivan competed in both the crossword and Sudoku tournaments and won a number of prizes including best handwriting in the crossword tournament and the Overall Best Morgan Hill Puzzler prize, a gift basket donated by Trader Joe's.
Press Coverage
A sampling of the press coverage the 2007 event received:- History in the Making at First Puzzle Day, Gilroy Dispatch, by Lisa Pampuch (Jan 23, 2007)
- Bend Your Brain for Charity at Silicon Valley's First Puzzle Day, Gilroy Dispatch (Feb 15, 2007)
- A Blatant PR Push, but Well Worth the Chagrin, Gilroy Dispatch, by Marty Cheek (Feb 17, 2007)
- Puzzle junkies compete at library fundraiser, The Mercury News (Feb 25, 2007)