By Cameron Kerkau, Staff Reporter.
The Literacy Council of Bay County held it’s 8th Annual Executive Spelling Bee on Thursday, Feb. 25 at the State Theater. The Spelling Bee is a fundraising event, and all the money goes toward supplies for their free summer reading and math tutoring program.
Five teams competed in the bee, each representing a different local organization. These three-person teams consisted of the Literate Lutherans from the Messiah Lutheran Church, the Souper Spellrz from Team One Credit Union, the Spellbinders from the Bay County Library System, the Bee G’s from the Gougeon Employees Foundation and the Spell’s Belles from Delta College.
The team from Delta College was made up of English professors Crystal McMorris, Janet Alexander and Lauren Smith.
“It got a little bit more nerve racking the more rounds that went by, but it was mostly fun,” says Alexander.
The Literate Lutherans defended their 2015 win in their 8th year participating in the Bee.
“We’ve supported the Literacy Council for many years. I think reading is one of the most fundamental skills and we gotta make sure all our kids can read,” says Literate Lutheran Tracy Teich.
Kathy Rayner, the executive director of the Literacy Council of Bay County, acted as moderator and pronouncer for the event. All spellings were taken from the Webster’s New World Dictionary, and Rayner endeavored to use the most common pronunciation of each word.
The Spelling Bee went on for several rounds without a single misspelling. Contestants exited the competition at a slow pace until the word “bouillon” cleared most of the stage. The Literate Lutherans won the Spelling Bee on the word “kaleidoscope.”
Once the Bee was over, Rayner thanked donors Buffalo Wild Wings and the Sweet Boutique for providing food.
Rayner concluded the night by encouraging people to volunteer with the Literacy Council. The Council is a non-profit organization consisting largely of volunteers.
“We work with adults who come to us and ask for help with reading or math, but we also are moving very quickly into working with early elementary aged children who are a half a grade or more behind,” says Rayner.
The Literacy Council is a partner agency of the United Way of Bay County.