BY MIKE MARTIN

Special to The Pilot

The Public Education Foundation of Moore County (MCPEF) wants to know how some of Moore County's brightest leaders will fare in a trivia contest with Moore County Schools' students.

The community will find out at 6 p.m., Thursday, Nov. 17, when 12 community leaders test their knowledge with 36 fifth-graders representing Moore County's public elementary schools. The event will be held in Owens Auditorium on the campus of Sandhills Community College.

Celebrity guests who will compete include: Baxter Clement, owner, Sandhills School of the Performing Arts; Eric Corbett, owner, Chick-fil-A, Southern Pines; Dr. John Dempsey, president, Sandhills Community College; Jim Dodson, Sunday essayist for The Pilot and editor of PineStraw and O.Henry magazines; Caroline Eddy, executive director, Boys & Girls Clubs of the Sandhills; Carolyn Helms, children's minister, First Baptist Church, Southern Pines; Dick Higginbotham, senior executive vice president and CFO, Pinehurst Resort and Country Club; Marianne Kernan, president, National Alliance on Mental Illness-Moore County; Tracy Metcalf, 2011 Moore County Teacher of the Year, Union Pines High School; Chris Metzger, head football coach, Pinecrest High School; Audrey Moriarty, executive director, Given Memorial Library and Tufts Archives; and Dr. Larry Upchurch, retired deputy superintendent, Moore County Schools.

Patrick Coughlin, president and CEO of the Moore County Chamber of Commerce, will be master of ceremonies and promises to keep the show moving and the participants honest.

Moore County Schools' finest fifth-graders will partner with a celebrity guest and challenge other teams in a contest based on the popular television show.

Topics will include science, math, -history, grammar and sports. Participating elementary schools include: Aberdeen, Cameron, Carthage, Highfalls, Pinehurst, Robbins, Sandhills Farm Life, Southern Pines, Vass-Lakeview, Westmoore, West End and West Pine.

The mission of the Public Education Foundation of Moore County is to encourage excellence in educational practices in the Moore County Public Schools by providing financial support and recognition for engaging learning experiences. Community support is essential in helping to raise the funds that are then "granted" to teachers for creative, educational projects.

The Public Education Foundation of Moore County plans and executes a variety of fundraising events in order to help fulfill its mission.

For more information or to be an event sponsor, call Susan Sanders at (910) 295-2740, or visit www.mcpef.org.