Lockport Township school board member and family compete on ‘Family Feud’

Lockport Township High School District 205 Board member Michael Travis, who sits on the same board his father did, recently honored him in another way by competing on their favorite show, “Family Feud.”

Michael Travis and his wife, Rebecca, and their children Brandon, Bryson and Micah, competed on the game show episode aired Tuesday. Brandon Travis said he applied for his family to be on the show two years ago so his grandfather, Charles E. Travis, who loved the show, could see his family’s name on the Family Feud stage.

Charles E. Travis died Sept. 24, 2022, Brandon said.

“We’ve always watched ‘Family Feud,’” Brandon said. “We hoped that he was going to get to see the show and see his last name up in lights up on the board, but unfortunately he didn’t get a chance to see that.”

Brandon Travis, who was the family’s team captain, said in February 2021 he completed the application for his family to compete and, after meeting with producers and participating in mock games, they filmed the episode this past February.

After watching the show for so many years, Brandon Travis, 32, said it was surreal to see the lights, cameras and stage. Though the show is about 30 minutes, Brandon said filming can last up to an hour and a half.

The highlight of the experience, he said, was meeting host Steve Harvey and watching him interact with the contestants and audience.

“When he’s on stage and when he’s offstage, he’s funny. Everything is a joke. He can turn anything into a joke,” Brandon said. “But he does have his serious moments where he likes to invest and inspire. Meeting him was just great.”

Rebecca Travis, 56, said she and her family had a great time competing, meeting the other contestants and watching Harvey in his element. It was a lot of fun being a contestant, she said, but it’s a lot different compared to watching from home.

“It’s definitely easy, at home, to get all the number one answers,” Rebecca said “But when you’re on stage it’s nerve-wracking.”

The Travis family got about 90 points, Brandon said, and they didn’t win the game. But the family made the return list, he said, so they will be invited back to compete.

“Going back, I want to do a lot better than we did before,” Michael Travis said. “We’re going to be a lot more comfortable and I know we’re going to do better.”

Brandon Travis laughed thinking about what his grandfather would’ve said.

“He would’ve gave us some talking to like, ‘Come on, you could’ve gotten more points than that,’ and ‘What kind of answers were those?’” Brandon said. “But then at the end he would’ve just laughed and said we did a great job.”

Michael Travis, 61, said his father would’ve been proud.

“Throughout that whole process, I was thinking of him,” Michael said.