The 13th annual Community Spelling Bee sponsored by the Mary Lyon Foundation will be held on Thursday, at 6:30 p.m. in the Mohawk Trail Regional School auditorium. There will be 30 teams of three people each competing for the grand championship.
Among the new teams, this year will be a trio from Pothole Pictures. Many teams will breathe a sigh of relief to know that four-time grand championship winners, the Shelburne Falls Coffee Roasters, will sponsor a different team this year.
Two Queen Bee sponsors will make this unique event affordable for everyone. The Greenfield Savings Bank and Clark’s Corvair are sponsors. Along with a long list of team sponsors, raffle donors, volunteers, board members and indispensable student help, the spelling bee will once again showcase not only the generosity of the community, but also the spirit of the Shelburne Falls area — its businesses, students, individuals, organizations and schools’ staffs.
Many past spelling bee teams will compete again this year, including Blackmer Insurance Agency’s former grand champions, students representing National Honor Society and the local Arts Co-Op, famous for winning the “best dressed” award. One year the team came dressed as the Bridge of Flowers and won.
Proceeds from this event benefit local education, specifically the Mini-Grant program, now in its 27th year. Mini-grants are awarded on a competitive basis to staff in all our local schools. The classroom projects sponsored by the Mini-Grant program inspire and motivate grass roots learning at all age levels and at all ability levels. The Mary Lyon Foundation has invested tens of thousands of dollars in school-based, educational projects.