On March 7, 2008 Pioneers Jim Crosbie, Diane Rodger and Deb Foley participated in Rhode Island's MarchSmartness competition held at the Rhode Island State House.  

All three were judges in this day long consumer knowledge competition with students from eleven Rhode Island High Schools.

This year the Pioneers provided the morning and lunch break refreshments. Denver Chapter Pioneers partnered with the Cranston West High School culinary program and they provided a terrific spread for all the students, coaches and officials at the event.

The honorable Frank Caprio, General Treasurer for the State of Rhode Island was one of the moderators during the final round of competition. After lunch we sat in the House Chambers and heard Secretary of State A. Ralph Mollis speak to the students about getting involved in their communities and their government. This was followed by presentations of certificates and pictures of all the teams.

We had a wonderful day judging the competition and look forward to the MarchSmartness Competition in 2009. 

Anyone wanting to know more or volunteer for this event should contact Deb Foley at 508-624-1397.    

LifeSmarts: the ultimate consumer challenge is a nationwide program of the National Consumers League (NCL) designed to teach and reward teenagers for consumer knowledge. Teens study and answer questions in five areas: personal finance, health & safety,  technology, environment, consumer rights & responsibilities

Teens compete online, then, qualifying teams of four (plus one alternate) compete in the fast-paced, college-bowl style state competition, nicknamed “March Smartness” in Rhode Island.

The Rhode Island State Champion each year claims the “Consumers’ Cup” and earns the right to compete in the national LifeSmarts competition, held in April. This year's national competition is in Minneapolis, Minnesota.