Great Grown-up Spelling Bee

Ionia County Literacy Council schedules second annual Great Grown-up Spelling Bee

After last year’s resounding success, the Ionia County Literacy Council is planning its second annual Great Grown-up Spelling Bee for Tuesday, March 20, 2012, at the Ionia County Intermediate School District. As was done last year, a sit-down dinner and silent auction are also planned for this special fund-raiser.

The Great Grown-up Spelling Bee is a contest among adults, and three adults make up one team. All teams spell the same word at the same time. After discussing among themselves how to spell the word, teams write the given word on a magic-marker board. After the word pronouncer calls time, the marker boards are shown to the judges simultaneously.

Last year’s teams consisted of Michigan One Community Credit Union, Portland Federal Credit Union, First Bank West Michigan, Portland Adult and Community Education, and the Spell Chicks, a team comprised of three women from Lansing. Michigan One Community Credit Union took home the large trophy, and it now sits proudly in their lobby. Spellers for Michigan One’s winning team last year were Judy, Han, and Erick Huyhn.

The trophy will pass from winning team to winning team each year.

To make the night even more fun, teams are asked to come up with a theme and dress accordingly. The cost to enter a team is $200, and businesses are encouraged to sponsor a team. In addition, local businesses will be contacted about supplying goods or services for the silent auction. After the event, names of participating businesses will be published in a thank-you letter in local newspapers, as well as on the literacy council website. This is an excellent way of getting new customers into a business.

The cost for the fundraiser dinner is $15 per person or $25 for couples (children 10 and under eat free). In addition, coffee and desserts can be purchased for a donation during the spelling bee for those who cannot make it to the dinner. All spelling team members and sponsors eat free.

The sit-down dinner begins at 6:00 p.m. and the spelling bee begins at 7:00 p.m., followed by a break at 8:00 for the silent auction. And like last year, the literacy council will provide the cheerleaders!

Adult spelling bees are held all over the country and have proven to be successful fundraisers for literacy councils.

Funds raised from this event will directly support the work of the Ionia County Literacy Council, a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization established for the purpose of training volunteer tutors to work directly with adult learners in the areas of math, reading and English as a second language. Adult students learn life-enhancing skills, as well as literacy subjects, with our tutors.

Please RSVP for dinner arrangements by March 15. For more information about the spelling bee and how you can participate, or about our services, call the literacy council at 616-527-1360, ext. 116. We look forward to seeing you there!

Sponsors of the 2011 Ionia County Literacy Council Great Grown Up Spelling Bee included

Spelling Bee and Team Sponsors:

Michigan One Community Credit Union
Portland Federal Credit Union
Firstbank West Michigan
Portland Adult & Community Education
Scott Miller/Edward Jones
Kathy Bengel
Cindy Currie
Carol Abood-Palm
Joan and Mike Boog

Those who donated goods or services for the silent auction portion of the 2011 Great Grown Up Spelling Bee:

Sterner Veterinary Clinic (Ionia)
Gus Macker Basketball (Belding)
Around the Block Quilt Shop (Portland)
Shadow Ridge Golf Course (Ionia)
Blossom Shoppe (Belding)
Kathy Bengel (Lansing)
Jo Ann Carney (Alto)
Linda Stewart (Ionia)

We would also like to acknowledge other participants of the 2011 Great Grown Up Spelling Bee:

Ionia County Intermediate School District, for the use of its space
Marvin Pease, Caterer
Attorney Patrick Duff, our Master of Ceremonies
Christina Frost, our word pronouncer
Julie Milewski, Spelling Bee Judge
Kim Treece, Spelling Bee Judge
Jason Smith, Spelling Bee Judge
S & K Trophies and Plaques of Portland
Karen Merchant, Silent Auction Coordinator
World Wide Kids 4-H Group, servers
Youth Advisory Council, servers

Our spellers were

Portland Federal Credit Union

1 Ben Weller

2 Karen Boswell

3 Jason Ratliff

PACE Honeybees (Portland Adult & Community Education)

1 Stephanie Schneider

2 Laura Hager

3 Karen Wisnewski

The First Bees (Firstbank West Michigan)

1 Dan Mitchell

2 Jackie Thebo

3 Linda Steele

Spell Chicks

1 Cindy Currie

2 Carol Abood-Palm

3 Kathy Bengel

Michigan One Community Credit Union

1 Judy Huynh

2 Han Huynh

3 Eric Huynh

We look forward to our 2012 Great Grown Up Spelling Bee to be held in March. Join us for a night of fun!