YOUNGSTOWN — The 91st annual WFMJ-TV 21 Regional Spelling Bee will be Saturday at Stambaugh Auditorium.

The winner will move on to the 97th annual Scripps National Spelling Bee in Washington, D.C. over Memorial Day weekend.

Seventy-six area school spelling bee champions will compete in this year’s regional bee. The competitors come from public, private, parochial and charter schools in Mahoning and Trumbull counties. Each contestant will receive a 21-WFMJ Spelling Bee T-shirt, a school champion certificate and other mementos for their participation in the bee.

Kent State University Trumbull Campus is awarding a $2,000 scholarship to the grand champion, as well as $1,000 to the runner-up, and $500 to the third-place student.

Dr. Jeff Tyus, professor and graduate program director in the Department of

Communications at Youngstown State University, will serve as pronouncer of the bee.

The judges are Rev. Lewis Macklin, Pastor of Holy Trinity Missionary Baptist

Church; Dorothy Macklin, academic coach at Youngstown Early College; and Carol

Ryan, former 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.

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