A team of students from Hightstown High School took the top honor at Mercer County’s 2017 New Jersey High School Consumer Bowl, beating out six other area schools in a quiz-show style competition on good consumer practices., The winning Hightstown team consisted of Steven Cohen, captain; Sree Chinta, Jasman Singh, Shivam Verma and John Titicula. The team’s adviser is teacher David Teleposky. Hightstown, which also won the Mercer County title in 2015, will go on to compete at the Central Jersey Regional Consumer Bowl in Monmouth County on April 6., Mercer County’s annual Consumer Bowl competition is held by the Mercer County Division of Consumer Affairs, in conjunction with the New Jersey Division of Consumer Affairs, and pits teams from various local high schools against one another to test their knowledge on being a smart shopper. This year’s competition was held on March 2 at the Stone Terrace in Hamilton., Other schools that participated were Ewing High School, Hamilton High School West, Hopewell Valley High School (finalist), Nottingham High School, Steinert High School (finalist) and Trenton Central High School., “I congratulate Hightstown High School on its success, and offer a round of applause to all the students for their desire to become more aware of the world around them,” said Mercer County Executive Brian M. Hughes. “Being an informed consumer helps you understand your rights and become an active participant in the buying process. Information is your best defense against consumer fraud, from identity theft to lemon laws, telemarketing scams and more.”, Anthony Brennan, New Jersey Consumer Affairs investigator and Union County TV personality, served as moderator for the Mercer County competition and Mercer County Consumer Affairs Chief Donna Giovannetti served as referee. Judges were County Clerk Paula Sollami Covello, County Surrogate Diane Gerofsky, NJ Consumer Affairs Investigator Brian Penn, Assistant Prosecutor Rachel Cook, Mercer County Sheriff’s Office Detective Jason Salvatore, retired Investigator Joanne Frank and Assistant County Counsel John Maloney. Retired Detective Michele Russell, County Weights & Measures Inspector Rebecca Shaw and NJ Consumer Bowl Coordinator Dulcelina Pena served as scorekeepers, and NJ Consumer Affairs Building Services Coordinator Keith Williams served as timekeeper., The Consumer Bowl was created by the Mercer County Division of Consumer Affairs in 1994 as a way to encourage students to become smarter consumers, to be wary of scams and unfair business practices, and to be knowledgeable when obtaining services like home improvements or buying products such as vehicles or appliances. The Division of Consumer Affairs can be reached at (609) 989-6671.
