Local teams compete in spelling bee to help raise funds for Literacy Council

Ten spelling bee teams entered a marksmanship-like competition Friday, taking aim at a target-rich environment of challenging words during the 23rd annual Literacy Council Corporate Spelling Bee.

Of the 10 teams, the Texarkana Gazette team came away, once again, as the overall spelling bee winner in the fourth and final round of competition. The perennial finalist E-Z Mart team came in again as runners up.

For the Gazette, Friday’s victory marks at least its ninth win in the event’s 23-year his- tory.

The victors scored their win- ning play in the final round by correctly spelling the German word “klatsch”—also acceptably spelled klatch. The word means “a gathering of friends for informal conversation.”

Klatsch was just one of an assortment of some 184 German, Italian, Spanish, English, French, Dutch, Latin and Greek words sprinkled throughout the evening by pronouncer Steve Mitchell, KTXK 91.5 FM general manager.

Gazette team member Karl Richter, who also competed last year, noted a couple of differences in this year’s bee.

“The words in the earlier rounds weren’t as difficult this year, but the tie-breaker words were more difficult,” he said.

E-Z Mart team members Marie McMillan, Aimee Gilliland and Sarah Rodgers said they still had a lot of fun.

“It’s always exciting to compete, and it’s great to represent E-Z Mart,” Rodgers said.

During the contest’s first round, words such as “stagnant,” “cognizant” and “tertiary” peppered competitors from the Gazette, Commercial National Bank, Texarkana College and CHRISTUS St. Michael Health System. Gazette team members eventually won the first round after correctly spelling the word “niblick,” which is a golf club.

Teams from HealthCARE Express, the Literacy Council Volunteers and First United Methodist Church took on “tantalize,” “fluorescent,” “metamorphosis” and “gauche.” First UMC triumphed during Round 2 after correctly spelling “beauteous,” while E-Z Mart won the third round with the word “besmirch.”

Commercial National Bank won the Spirit and Costume awards.

This is the second time the bee was held at Silvermoon on Broad.

Staff photo by Jerry Habraken n Eric Caine, left, and Debra McWilliams with the CHRISTUS St. Michael Health System spelling bee team react to hearing the word “friable” during the first round of the 23rd annual Corporate Spelling Bee benefiting the Literacy Council of Bowie and...