POPLAR BLUFF, Mo – One Southeast Missouri student will win the chance on Feb.26, to compete in the National Spelling Bee by winning the Southeast Missouri Regional Spelling Bee at Three Rivers College.

This year’s competition marks the second year that Three Rivers College will host a regional Scripps Spelling Bee for area elementary and junior high school students. The winner immediately is qualified for the national spelling bee.

“Three Rivers is one of only a few higher education institutions to sponsor the national spelling bee,” said Mark Sanders, English instructor and coordinator of the Southeast Missouri Regional Spelling Bee at Three Rivers.

Sanders reports the 2010 Southeast Missouri Regional Spelling Bee was won by Summer Johnston, a student from Advance.

“We invite public, private, parochial and home-schooled students from 17 southeast Missouri counties to take part in this event.”

The E.W. Scripps Publishing Company has sponsored and hosted the National Spelling Bee in Washington, D.C., since 1941.

According to Sanders, 45 spellers are registered for the competition at Three Rivers. The winner of this bee will be qualified to advance to the National Spelling Bee this summer. Last year's national champion received over $40,000 in savings bonds, prize money, and books.

“Until Three Rivers began hosting this last year, kids in our area did not have any opportunity to compete against other spellers from throughout the country,” said Steve Lewis, Division Chair for Humanities and Social Sciences at Three Rivers. “Now they do. The spelling bee fosters excellence in academic achievement among the students in southeast Missouri. The event also provides an opportunity for the students and their family members to set foot on our campus, become more acquainted with our facilities and personnel, and realize that Three Rivers is an excellent choice for higher education.”

“As an institution of higher learning, it’s important for us to support educational experiences at all levels of learning,” said Dr. Wesley Payne, Vice President for Learning at Three Rivers. Events like this give us the opportunity to be good community citizens by supporting the efforts of elementary and middle-school learners.”

The 2nd Annual Southeast Missouri Regional Spelling Bee at Three Rivers will begin at 10 a.m. on Saturday, Feb.26, in the Tinnin Fine Arts Center auditorium. The event is presented by the Three Rivers Endowment Trust and open to the public; admission will not be charged. Sponsors include Boycom Cablevision; Insta-Print; First Midwest Bank; Poplar Bluff Rotary Club; Sikeston Rotary Club; River Radio; East Side Discount Pharmacy; First Missouri State Bank; Kennedy, Kennedy, Robbins & Yarbro; Mayas Restaurant; Poplar Bluff Federal Credit Union; Poplar Bluff Kiwanis; Southern Bank; Sterling Bank and Walmart. For more information, please contact Mark Sanders at (573) 840-9122.

Photo above
The 2010 winner of the Southeast Missouri Spelling Bee. Summer Johnston of Advance, participated in several events as a part of the 2010 National Spelling Bee in Washington, D.C. She is pictured above with the 2009 National Spelling Bee winner, Kavya Shivashankar, who won the spelling bee in Lafayette, Ind. Sponsored by the Journal and Courier. Her winning word in the 2009 National Spelling Bee was “laodicean” (which means a person who is lukewarm or indifferent, especially a person who is lukewarm or indifferent, especially in religion).