Rotary Club of East Montgomery County hosts annual spelling bee

Can you spell FUN? That describes the highly anticipated Rotary Spelling Bee!

The 14th annual event was held on Sept. 21 at the New Caney High School cafeteria with 17 teams, 13 sponsors, and a lot of laughs! Funds raised at the Rotary Club of East Montgomery County’s Spelling Bee provide scholarships to graduating seniors from New Caney and Splendora ISDs. 

The rules were simple. After each word was read, a definition given, and used in a sentence, the team of three had 30 seconds to write down the word, hoping they spelled it correctly.

Trash-talking was encouraged, but cell phones were prohibited! Judges walked around to confirm the word was spelled correctly, and if not, teams had to purchase “stingers” to keep them in the game.  

After three rounds of 10 words each, four teams remained – The Barbees from Lone Star College-Kingwood, Takin’ Care of Buzziness from New Caney ISD, The Queen Bees from the Heritage Museum of Montgomery County, and the T-Crossers from Currin Wuest Mielke Paul & Knapp, PLLC.

The word “nimiety” eliminated The Barbees, leaving Takin’ Care of Buzziness, The Queen Bees, and the T-Crossers to battle for the coveted Bee trophy. When “Onomatopoeia” was called out by the Rotary Club Moderator, Jim Stubbs, the teams went to work. When time was called, the T-Crossers won!

Congratulations T-Crossers, and thank you to all the teams and sponsors for raising $8,751 to help our students succeed.