Adult Spelling Bee raises thousands for students and teachers
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IDAHO FALLS — A big crowd showed up to the Adult Spelling Bee on Friday night and things got competitive very quickly.
Some 21 teams — each with three members — participated in numerous bouts of spelling mastery. The event, organized by the Idaho Falls School District 91 Education Foundation, was a fundraiser to help support the foundation and its grant and scholarship programs for students and teachers.
“The spellers were so much better than we had anticipated — who knew Idaho Falls had such great spellers?” Foundation Executive Director Marilou Hart said. “We had to revert to finding more difficult words on the internet, because everyone was getting them right!”
Organizers estimate the foundation raised between $12,000 and $15,000 between ticket sales and team entrance fees. About 250 people, including the competitors, attended the event.
“It was so much more successful than we thought it would be,” Hart said. “This was the first time for doing this and a lot of people were hesitant, but once we explained the concept people really got into it and were very competitive.”
The winning team — the Tenuous Tigers — represented Dora Erickson Elementary School.
The EastIdahoNews.com team — the Breaking Bees — participated in the event and had a lot of fun competing.
Hart said the event was such a success they are already planning next year’s bee.
“We already have people signing on for next year’s event and it’s a definite go ahead,” she said.
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