A winning event: 8th annual Deborah Heart Challenge and Art Competition

The highly competitive Deborah Heart Challenge and Art Competition took center stage at Pemberton Township High School in celebration of National Heart Month. This eighth annual competition pitted academic teams and art students from seven South Jersey high schools against one another as they vied for first place and nearly $5,000 in prize money. The event was supported by Colonial Village Catering, Burlington County Times, PHH Mortgage, Pemberton Borough Municipal Alliance, Pemberton Township Lions Club, the Estate of Miryam Raphael, AAA Mid-Atlantic, Lowe’s Home Improvement Warehouse, Banc of America Corp. Insurance Agency, LLC, Dowden Health Media and Cranberry Blossom Floral Company.

The Heart Challenge is a unique academic competition that sets the standard for intellectual prowess. The 90-minute “Jeopardy”-style competition was emceed by Fox Philadelphia 29 Sports Director Don Tollefson. Three Deborah physicians, Charles Dennis, M.D., Chairman of the Department of Cardiology; Roger Moore, M.D., Chairman Emeritus of the Department of Anesthesiology; and Niels Giddins, M.D., Chairman of the Department of Pediatric Cardiology, posed increasingly difficult questions to the students on their knowledge of the heart, lungs and vascular system—Deborah Heart and Lung Center’s three specialty services.

Pemberton’s home-team students faced last year’s event winner, Seneca High School, as well as Shawnee, Lenape, Cherokee, Holy Cross and New Egypt High Schools. Lenape High School triumphed.

In addition to the Heart Challenge, a companion art competition event showcased creative multi-dimensional and multimedia artwork done by students of the participating schools. The judges included artists, curators and a member of the Burlington County Art Guild. The rigorous contest has grown and is now “The Superbowl” of South Jersey academic competitions.