Gunn-Mowery brings popular game show to residents

Let the fun begin!

Name an animal you wouldn’t kiss. That was the question. Team 2 debated it among themselves. Gorilla, someone said. Or a monkey?

“I’d kiss a monkey,” one teammate objected.

They decided on “frog,” but that brought up a red X on the screen and a loud buzzer. This was Family Feud, Homeland-style.

The Family Feud game came to Homeland on a rainy Thursday afternoon courtesy of Gunn-Mowery, LLC, the venerable insurance company based in Lemoyne. Gunn-Mowery has long done business and volunteer work with Homeland, and when staffers there expressed a desire to extend their community volunteerism to retirement homes, Homeland was the perfect fit.

The game was played much like the beloved TV show that first aired in 1976, when teams guess the answers that survey respondents give to questions. Homeland residents joked about the absence of original host Richard Dawson and current host Steve Harvey, but they easily got into the spirit. Residents and staff divided into teams. One team member had a bell to ring when the question for each round was presented.

From there, the competition was friendly but lively. Teammates debated answers to such queries as “Name a reason someone might wake up at 2 in the morning,” and “Name another word for garbage.” Controversy almost erupted when the moderator, Gunn-Mowery’s Marketing Director Jamie Mowery Lewis, gave Team 2 a point for “disposable” when the answer was “litter.”

The Fast Money rounds tested the skills of individual team members, each given one minute to give a single answer to 10 questions. Homeland resident Helen “Polly” Myers burned up the board, matching seven out of the 10 answers.

“I do watch game shows, to see if I know the answers,” she said. And as for her scorching performance? “I did all right,” she admitted.

Gunn-Mowery encourages staff to give time to community causes, spreading cheer and getting jobs done for local nonprofits. Staffers have supported Special Olympics, United Way Day of Caring, and Dress for Success South Central PA.

“I feel you should give back to the community and those who need assistance,” said insurance agent Mary Markel.

Resident Ann Soder eagerly suggested answers to the Family Feud questions.

“It was fun,” she said. “It keeps you on your toes.”

Ann loves the full range of Homeland activities and suggested that anyone looking for a retirement community should “check out Homeland before they go to other homes.”

Gunn-Mowery, whose slogan is “The Upside of Insurance,” has used its online version of Family Feud for internal events and then decided to try it out with the community, said Lewis, a member of the company’s Upside of Giving Committee. A recent survey of employees found that many had a desire to help the elderly. As a Gunn-Mowery client, Homeland has been very active in leveraging the resources the insurer offers to sustain safety and security efforts, so it made sense to reach out with a fun activity for residents to enjoy, said Lewis.

Insurance agent Debra Walburn, who assisted Team 1, is passionate about helping the elderly.

“I’ve always enjoyed being with older people,” she said. “They have so much to tell. They have so many stories. They have a lot to offer the world, and they’ve given so much.”

In the end, Lewis couldn’t quite calculate which team won the most points, so she declared that everyone was a winner. Polly Myers enjoyed the afternoon’s competition, but she appreciated that spirit of sportsmanship, too.

“Everyone won,” she said. “That’s what’s important.”