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Fifth annual spelling bee benefits literacy
Team looks to spell repeat
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Forsyth County News
While Lanier Tech employee Donna Brinson refuses to trash-talk her opponents, she maintains that her team of "Blonde Bombspells" will dutifully defend last year's spelling bee title.
"We were pretty shocked to win it last year," said Brinson, who helped represent Lanier Tech during the 2007 Spell Check Live.
Brinson and Lanier Tech teammates Carol Brown and Kathy Davis spelled first-time success with the upset victory over reigning two-time champion "Library Lexicons."
The fifth annual Spell Check Live! 2008 spelling bee begins at 6:30 p.m. Aug. 12 in the performing arts center at Forsyth County Central High School.
Eleven teams representing organizations, clubs and even the legal system of Forsyth County will compete to benefit the Certified Literate Community Program.
Program Director Lorraine Stewart said this year's spelling bee will be similar to last year's event.
She said the first round of words will come from the Forsyth Read's Together book selection for this summer, "Murder on the Orient Express."
The organizations worked together to promote the inaugural program, and this year's spelling bee is the culmination of that effort.
"It's going to follow last year's format," Stewart said. "The teams that come back to this every year are very good. They're good spellers, and it's exciting to watch."
Tickets will be sold at the door for $5 each, and children get in free. All proceeds benefit Certified Literate Community, a community and education partnership seeking to eliminate illiteracy in Georgia.
The organization sponsors spelling bees and other programs that promote literacy.
The Forsyth County Library has been involved in the spelling bee since 2004, the event's inaugural year.
Vanessa Cowie, the library's programming coordinator, has been a member of the library's spelling team since the beginning.
She, along with Tom Keith and Donna Fowler make up the "Library Lexicons," whose members sport "stereotypical library clothes" for the competition.
In fact, participants have been known to get "pretty creative" with their outfits in past years.
Asked if the Lexicons might reclaim the title this year, Cowie said, "We shall see."