I am very fortunate to have grown up in a city with incredible success in Odyssey of the Mind. Whenever I mention where I am from to someone familiar with OM and the success of North Olmsted, they ask me "What makes you guys so good?" Answering that question was about as easy as answering "What is OM?"

I am now a product of North Olmsted Odyssey of the Mind (NOOM), no longer a participant. I miss it very much. I think that this page will help shed some light on NOOM and explain some of the successes we have enjoyed.

For those of you who have ever been involved in NOOM or any successful program, please read on and relfect with me as I look back on over a decade of OM.

The City of North Olmsted

North Olmsted is a mid-sized suburb of Cleveland. It is located on the West Side (those of you familiar with Cleveland know that it makes a difference!). Population has been fairly steady at about 30,000-35,000 according to the census figures I could attain for the last couple of decades.

The city is home to a very large mall called Great Northern Mall as well as many, many other shopping strips and centers. Lorain Road (our main road) once held the world record for the most restaurants in a one-mile stretch. It was mostly fast-food. North Olmsted is a retail mecca of sorts, and it was nice to have anything one could possibly imagine for sale within the city limits.

Despite the many commercial establishments in our city, North Olmsted is constantly being mis-spelled (North Olmstead -UGH!).

Our school system is great. When I came to college, I realized how well I was prepared compared to others around me. My graduating class was just under 400, and the high school (grades 9-12) has had around 1500-1700 students each year with some fluctuation. Our athletics were good, but not fabulous. Our academic teams represented us very well, but rarely won major competitions.

N.O. is a great soccer (NOHS - 1996 Boys' State Division I champs!) and hockey town, and most of all - it shined in OM.

The Beginnings

Odyssey of the Mind was introduced in North Olmsted a long time ago. I believe it was 1983 as a part of the gifted program. If I remember correctly, Dr. Jean Bartoo was the person who introduced OM to the district. The appeal was instant for many people. A non-athletic way to compete which was not about grades and homework and regurgitating facts. Our first few teams enjoyed some mild success, with some teams winning regionals and going on to state.

I think it is important to state here that NOOM was always an out-of-school activity. Volunteer parents coached and gave up space in their homes for teams to be creative. We never had OM as a class, we never had paid coaches, nor were we a "rich" city (as were some of the rumors out there). Nothing is necessarily wrong about any of that, it just is not true. I think there are different circumstances for every program.

The success of those first teams and the lure of a big State competition keep our program growing. I was a part of those early years, finishing second in regionals in the "Strategy Structure" problem in 1984. The entire program learned early that solving the problem was not enough. Style and Spontaneous were important factors in winning.

My team could not convince anyone to coach that next year, so I could not participate. OM kept going, and we had more teams make it to state.

Again in 1985-6, OM was not in my schedule, but my sister continued her involvement, and we had decent success at regionals sending a few teams to state. However, something special happened in 1986 which would forever change the expectations of NOOM.

The First Great Success

In 1986, a "Classics...Great Art Lives" team won the Division II state championship. Suddenly, the program had to raise funds to send one team out to Northern Arizona U. for World Competition. Everyone involved was excited. OM world was bigger than life, something that happened in a far away place some time after we were eliminated. I collected spare lunch change in my sixth grade class, my family sold candy, everyone pitched in. Somehow, it all got paid for, and the team went off into the unknown.

This team was good, but they had no idea where they would finish in a World Competition. They went in with the mindset of doing their best and seeing where they ended up. After a day or two of the competition, they began to realize that they had a real shot at placing in the competition. When all was said and done, the team had an individual Ranatra Fusca awarded to Krista Bognar, and a First Place trophy!

From that point on, we knew what was possible. Expectations are such an important part of education, and it is also true of OM. We believed that we could succeed at every level, and we did.

This was a part of the boom in NOOM, but another HUGE part was a great move my Mrs. Rosemary Bognar. She opened up OM to all students in every school in our district. Enrollment boomed. Our program tripled in size within one year. I strongly maintain that creative students are not only in "gifted" programs. Those districts who relegate OM to the gifted program are really missing the point of OM.

The Golden Years

From 1987 to 1994, North Olmsted sent at least two teams to world each year. I have included a sumary of NOOM finishes at World here. To summarize, North Olmsted has had at least 17 teams finish in the top 6, including an outstanding OMer award, three Ranatra Fuscas and seven First Place awards (the most first place awards won by any one program).

The Future

I honestly do not know about the future of NOOM. I am now living 2 hours south of my hometown, and I do not know many of the people still involved. The extremely talented teams which went to world many times have moved on. Many experienced coaches have "resigned" to judging and consulting. After 1994, I lost personal contact with the program, and I can not speak for NOOM of the present, but I know that a look into a storied OM past has brought a lot of memories for me, and hopefully answered some questions about NOOM.