YOUNGSTOWN — The 89th annual 21-WFMJ Regional Spelling Bee is set for Saturday at Stambaugh Auditorium, 1000 Fifth Ave.

Fifty-one area school spelling bee champions are scheduled to compete. The youngsters represent public, private, parochial and charter schools in both Mahoning and Trumbull counties. The spellers are the champions of their school competitions.

Each contestant will receive a Merriam-Webster 11th Edition Collegiate dictionary, courtesy of 21-WFMJ, as well as a 21-WFMJ Spelling Bee T-shirt, a school champion certificate and other mementos for their participation in the bee.

Two grand champions will be named this year. The last two standing students will go on to represent the Valley at the 95th Annual Scripps National Spelling Bee Memorial Day weekend in Washington, D.C. Kent State at Trumbull Campus is awarding a $2,000 scholarship to each of the two grand champions, as well as $1,000 to the runner-up, and $500 to the third-place student.

Adam Earnheardt, professor of the Department of Communication at Youngstown State University, will serve as pronouncer for the bee. The judges are the Rev. Lewis Macklin, pastor of Holy Trinity Missionary Baptist Church; Mary Kay Earnhart, a retired teacher; and Carol Ryan, recently retired office manager of St. Christine Parish.

This educational program is an opportunity for students to learn the spelling of words as well as their definitions, origins, parts of speech and how to use them in sentences. Spelling skills developed now will be beneficial to students throughout their lives. The 21-WFMJ Regional Spelling Bee has been a tradition in the community since 1934.