I still don't know how John Unangst managed to pull it off.
All I know is this.
He managed to snag the perfect host for his annual Partners in Education Gala at which the winning team and other kids who take part in the Delaware County Hi-Q Contest are saluted.
Hi-Q is the nation's oldest scholastic quiz competition.
So who could possibly be a better host than longtime 'Jeopardy' host Alex Trebek.
I'll admit I was dubious when John told me he was trying to get Trebek to come to Delco to host the inaugural event.
John was the head of Franklin Mint Federal Credit Union. He was looking to make a splash with a new emphasis on kids and education, focusing not on the athletic fields, but on those kids who excel in the classroom as well.
He and then Delco Intermediate Unit boss Harry Jamison paid me a visit in my office and pitched the idea of doing a Hi-Q All-Delco team, similar to the teams the newspaper selects after every Delco high school sports season.
It's been a fixture ever since.
I still wasn't sure John was going to be able to reel in Trebek until I got to the Drexelbrook and was chatting amiably with the legendary game show host before we entered to banquet room.
Trebek could not have been nicer. He was thrilled with the notion of focusing on kids' academic achievements, and saluted the newspaper's role in the efforts.
Of course he was a huge hit with the more than 600 people who packed the room.
We lost Unangst suddenly a little more than a year ago.
The annual Partners in Education dinner is his shining legacy.
And none shone brighter than that first night when Alex Trebek came to Delco to salute kids.
Yesterday, Trebek announced he was battling Stage 4 pancreatic cancer.
Ironically, it came on the very day they crowned a new Hi-Q champion wrapping up the 2019 season. The kids from Garnet Valley took the crown.
He was blunt in his assessment, noting that while the prognosis usually is not good, he was going to fight this thing.
"So help me. Keep the faith and we'll win. We'll get it done," Trebek said in a video he posted.
Delco is with you, Alex.
We'll take "Beat Cancer" for $1,000.
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