Casey Thompson, eighth grader at Ashdown Junior High School, was the winner of the Little River County Spelling Bee on Sunday, Jan. 29, and eighth grader Morgan Jones from Foreman was the runner-up. Thompson, son of Carmen Johnson and Jack Wayne Thompson, will advance to the state level of the Scripps National Spelling Bee on March 3 at UALR in Little Rock.
The winner and runner-up were awarded cash prizes and gift cards totaling $400 from participating county contributors , including $100 from the Ashdown Kiwanas for the winner's travel expenses to the state competition. The winner of the 2012 Arkansas State Spelling Bee, presented by the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, will advance to the Scripps National Spelling Bee in Washington, D.C., on May 27.
County Coordinator for the county spelling bee is Earlene Warrick, the pronouncer for the contestants was Butch Riddle, and the official judges were Roddy and Tiffany Smith.
"The Scripps National Spelling Bee is the largest and longest-running educational promotion, involving more than 270 sponsoring organizations and millions of students worldwide, to benefit schools and spelling bee participants," states their website. In addition to improving students’ spelling skills and increasing their vocabularies, spelling bee participation provides valuable experience in developing poise – a necessary skill for success in public speaking.
