For ten years Jake Allen of Holiday Island has been trying to get on Jeopardy. His dream came true during spring break when he was selected as a participant for the Teacher Tournament series.
“He is a natural with all the facts and figures,” his proud mother-in-law, Sue Hopkins, said. “He taught in Eureka for ten years and now teaches in Huntsville. He helps coach their Quiz Bowl team. Jake also hosts trivia at Brews periodically. He is someone you do not want to play Scrabble with.”
The annual teacher’s tournament brings in 15 teachers from around the country for a 10-episode tournament. Each quarter finalist teacher received $5,000. Semi-finalists who made it to second round won $10,000. The third-place finalist earned $25,000 and second place won $50,000. The grand prize for winning is $100,000. All the teachers also received a $2,500 grant from Farmers Insurance that can be used for classroom supplies or equipment.
Accompanying Jake on the trip to Los Angeles were his wife, Piper Allen, their children, Georgia and Charlie, and friends Charity and Jeff Thurman. Jake said they all had a blast.
“It was really cool,” Jake said. “More than anything it was just a wonderful experience. It was really great to knock something off the list that you have always wanted to do. I think, now what? I need a new challenge, a new life dream.”
Random facts have always stuck with Jake.
“I’m super interested in the world,” said Jake, who wore a red bow tie at the taping. “I love to travel and seeing new places. I’ve always been interested in why things are the way they are and how they got that way. That is why stuff sticks in my brain.”
The actual experience he found surreal, and didn’t suffer much from nerves.
“It was exciting to be there, see the little podium and the big game board,” he said. “The people there running the show were totally fantastic. They treated us like royalty. One thing they said over and over again is that they do this tournament because they really love teachers. Usually for a regular contestant, they don’t pay for the airfare or hotel. But the teacher tournament pays flight and hotels, plus a per diem for food and transportation.”
Host Alex Trebek was friendly and sociable, talking to the audience during commercial breaks. People asked him what he likes to do in his spare time.
“One thing I was surprised about is that Alex Trebek is quite the handyman,” Allen said. “He has a lot of tools and likes to work on things around the house.”
Trebek called all the participants up on the stage following the taping and thanked the teachers, saying it was because of good teachers that Jeopardy participants know so much.
“What they are doing for teachers is really wonderful,” Jake said. “Participating made me love Jeopardy even more. Although I can’t be on the show anymore, I’m still going to watch it.”
And he will continue as a rotating host for trivia at Brew’s Sunday nights at 7 p.m.
“The host has to come up with the questions, so it is a pretty tough gig,” he said. “It takes a lot of research.”
The tournament airs May 7 – 11 for the quarterfinals on KFSM Channel 5 at 4:30 p.m. It’s also on KSPR Springfield at 5 p.m. Jake’s episode will air Friday, May 11.