"The Symphony Upbeats" Team comprised of Maleta Reynolds, Tom Stewart, and Carol Bridges, swept the
competition, Thursday night, in the 7th Annual Rotary Spelling Bee, by spelling the word e-x-t-i-r-p-a-t-e.
"Symphony Upbeats" Take Spelling Bee
Championship "On a High Note!!!"
by: Bobby McDonald
The competition was e-x-t-i-r-p-a-t-e-d from a very competitive contest of spelling, on Thursday night, in the 7th Annual Rotary Spelling Bee, with the "Symphony Upbeats" being declared the Champions, in the final round, when they were able to correctly spell e-x-t-i-r-p-a-t-e, meaning to pull up the roots, or exterminate. Team members, Carol Bridges, Tom Stewart, and Maleta Reynolds, representing the Sulphur Springs Symphony League and sponsored by Chris Diamond's Appraisal Firm of Texas, bested the #10 Team, comprised of Elizabeth Echols, Markeda Fisher, and Teresa Stalcup, and known as the "Bee Ballers," sponsored by Professional Land and Title Company. Third place team was the "Triple Threat All-Stars, sponsored by Front Porch News Texas and Advantage Copy, and comprised of Marc McGahee, Sally Toliver, and Michelle Thompson.
The second place team, the "Bee Ballers" were runner-up spellers for the 4th consecutive year.
And, the third place team, sponsored by Front Porch News Texas and Advantage Copy were intent on
getting their words spelled correctly.
Winning the Spirit Stick and the costume contest was the "Bee Ballers" who were dressed as giant baseballs and accompanied by a "live" Dr. Pepper Can and Popcorn Box!
The "Bee Ballers" from Professional Land and Title Company won the Spirit and Costume Award!
Congratulations to all of the winners!
The "Word Wizzard," Gail Herman, served as the pronouncer for Thursday night's event.
Tuesday night's event grossed approximately $15,000.00, that will be donated back to the community in scholarships and donations to local organizations by the Rotary Club. The meal of hotdogs and hamburgers, complete with cotton candy, and popcorn, foods that you would consume at a ball game, was catered by Plain and Fancy Sandwich Shoppe and assisted by Burger King.
Lynda Hager served popcorn to everyone!
The competition began with two rounds of baseball terms, that failed to eliminate any of the twelve teams. Words like: baseball, batter, grounder, slugger, pitcher, peanuts, popcorn, diamond, inning, outfielder, shortstop, catcher, manager, scoreboard, league, umpire, minor, stadium, statistics, knuckleball, designated, pennant, anthem, and spectator.
However, by the third round, the competition "picked up" with a series of words like: aluminum, professional, jubilant, disappointed, resigned, emergency, pronunciation, ambulance, accommodating, whimsical, and acquaintance. Team #2, Team #10, and Team #1 were eliminated for various infractions.
The fourth round found some of the teams using their "designated Rotarians" to help them out. When Rotarian, Ronny Glossup, was called upon to spell the word camouflage, he quickly came to the microphone and spelled "c-a-m-o!"
Other words in the round, included: tyranny, playwright, precede, renowned, mischievous, loathe, and exaggerate. The Team #12 was eliminated in the round, when they failed to add an extra "g" in exaggerate.
Legacy Ag Credit's Brandon Williams "dialed a friend" as he consulted the dictionary on his cell phone,
but still failed to get his "designated hitter" word correct!
Round five found a series of those commonly misspelled worlds, such as: inflammable, philosophize, indigestible, misspoken, colonel, conscience, solecism, inimical, mendacious, gourmand, and quotidian. Team #5 failed to succeed on the "indigestible" word and Team #6 failed with "misspoken."
A "live" auction was conducted for two Texas Ranger tickets, and the successful bid for $500.00 went to Sulphur Springs Dodge.
In the sixth round, words of somnolent, reprehensible, stupefy, debris, taciturn, and dearth were presented for spellers. It was a tough round and found the third place team being eliminated for failing to add and "a" in the world dearth.
Another live auction was conducted for a 1/2 day quail hunt, that "fetched" a $1025.00 price tag from Rotarian Bob Weaver.
With only two teams remaining, the finals round got very competitive. Words included: sophomore, posthumous, psychobabble, loneliness, lieutenant, sheriff, eminent, threshold, moribund, quiche, erudite, xylophone, hypnophobia, ambiguity, embarrassment, colloquy, melancholy, nabob, and eldritch. The second place team missed the "t" in eldritch, but the first place team also missed resistible, and the competition continued.
Chagrin, hebetude, docent, and cocklebur were all spelled correctly, but it came down to the final word of e-x-t-i-r-p-a-t-e, with the second place misplacing the "i" and the "r" and making the "Symphony Upbeats" the champions!
Other spelling team members included:
Bad News Bees, sponsored by Farmers Electric Cooperative, Candace Ashmore, Ashley McCraken, and Michelle Nowlin.
Fighting G's, sponsored by Guaranty Bond Bank, Garrett Glass, Wanda Crabtree, and Alma Arellano.
Mother Bees, sponsored by Mother's Culture Club, Lea Connor, Kelly Carmody, and Chaney Johnson.
Medikal Misphits, sponsored by Legacy Ag Credit, Denise Formoso, Cheryl Pierce, and Leslie Taylor.
Old Is Gold, sponsored by Northeast Texas Famers Coop, Nancy Bolton, Gwen Parker, and Enola Gay.
Bee A Lions - TAMU-C, sponsored by Patty Brown Allstate, Amy Bassham, Jerrod Knight, and Alicia Wittkopf.
Texas Heritage National Bank "Dusters," sponsored by THNB, Chris Gibbins, Tammie Lewellen, and Lisa Smith.
CNB All-Stars, sponsored by City National Bank, Kim Beck, James Vanwinkle, and Don Sapaugh.
Team Alliance Bank, sponsored by Alliance Bank, Jennifer Valdovinos, Deana Hale, and Jose Saavedra.
And, you know how folks in Hopkins County are "kin" to each other.
Some wanted to cry "foul play" or n-e-p-o-t-i-s-m, when Garrett Glass
was discovered "kin by marriage" to the pronouncer!
Congratulations to Rotary Club and Spellers
on a Great Night of Fun and Fundraising!!!
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