Nevada Thomas, Mac Waters, Taylor Greene, Rebecca Anderson,
Julia Parsons, Christian Colby, Isaac Maling, and Bailey Younce.
Oct. 14, 2013. After 10 rounds of competition, 8th grader Mac Waters of Valle Crucis School emerged as the winner and Taylor Greene of Cove Creek School was runner up in the Watauga County Schools Spelling Bee for 2013-14.
In addition to Waters and Greene, the other school Spelling Bee winners participating in Friday’s competition included Rebecca Anderson of Hardin Park, Christian Colby of Parkway, Isaac Maling of Blowing Rock, Julia Parsons of Green Valley, Nevada Thomas of Mabel, and Bailey Younce of Bethel. Each school champion advanced to the WCS finals of the Spelling Bee after winning a competition among 4th through 8th grade students at their school.
In his brief introductory remarks, Superintendent Dr. David Fonseca told the students that “you are already all winners in our hearts for being in this room as school champions.”
Meredith Jones, director of middle and secondary education, reviewed the rules for the Spelling Bee before the contest began. Jones and Tamara Stamey, director of elementary education, are the co-directors of the Spelling Bee and were assisted in coordinating the event by Renee Battle and Angela Hampton of the WCS central office staff and by school level coordinators at each of the K-8 schools.
The sponsors of this year’s Spelling Bee included Appalachian Ski Mountain, Appalachian State University Basketball, the Boone Area Chamber of Commerce, Doc’s Rocks Gem Mine, Grandfather Mountain, Mystery Hill, Tweetsie Railroad, and Yadkin Bank. Thanks to the support of the sponsors, each contestant received a family pass to six area attractions, a certificate of recognition, and a gift certificate. Spelling Bee Champion Mac Waters received an additional gift certificate in recognition of his achievement.
The Boone Area Chamber of Commerce played a special role in helping arrange the donations from other sponsors. Dr. Dan Meyer, CEO of the Boone Area Chamber, said “we are delighted to support education. In fact, it’s our number one priority.” Meyer added that “these students are not only our future employees, they are our future employers.”
Human Resources Director Dr. Stephen Martin served as the pronouncer for the event. The panel of judges included Ron Henries of the Watauga County Board of Education; Darcy Grimes, instructional technology facilitator at Bethel and Mabel and 2012-13 NC Teacher of the Year; and Dr. Dan Meyer of the Boone Area Chamber of Commerce.
The next round of Spelling Bee competition for the WCS winner will be the regional competition in Winston Salem in March.
The tradition of the Watauga County Schools Spelling Bee extends back to at least 1960.
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