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While so many things around us changed in the past year, it's refreshing to know that some things have not.
One of those is that hard work and preparation can pay big dividends.
We saw that Saturday, when Isabella Fletcher won the Jefferson-Harrison County Regional Spelling Bee presented by the Herald-Star.
This year's event was virtual, which meant that the competitors and bee officials were spread among several sites across the area. It had a very different feel from the other regional bees. There was no stage to compete on or a crowd of several hundred to view the event.
But none of that mattered to Fletcher. The seventh-grader at Harding Middle School calmly spelled "blastema," a noun meaning a mass of undifferentiated cells with the ability to develop into an organ or appendage, to claim the win.
It all means Fletcher, the daughter of Marlo Fletcher and Jayapal Reddy of Steubenville, will represent our region in this year's Scripps National Spelling Bee. That event will have a different look as well. Instead of each of the qualifiers traveling to the Washington. D.C., suburb of National Harbor, Md., to enjoy a week of activities with the bee being the centerpiece, Fletcher will take part in one of several smaller virtual events this summer that will produce the dozen or so competitors who will take part in a one-day bee July 8 at Walt Disney World in Orlando, Fla.
Each of the 46 participants in Saturday's bee had survived rigorous competition to earn their spot.
The fifth- through eighth-graders had participated in room, building and district bees before earning the right to compete in the regional bee. Along the way, they learned valuable lessons that should serve them well through the remainder of their lives.
The bee requires discipline and dedication, as well as the willingness to spend countless hours studying lists of words, learning their proper spellings as well as the nuances of origin and proper usage.
The Herald-Star has been sponsoring the bee since 1985. Last year marked the first time during that period that a bee was not held.
The competition has reached a higher level each year, as pupils, their families, their friends, their relatives and educators have become more involved in the preparation, realizing the valuable lessons academic competitions can teach.
Helping to sponsor the bee were local businesses including S.T.A.R.T. and Old Glory Embroidery; Ascent Resources; Encino Energy; the Franciscan University of Steubenville; Tri-State Financial Services; Gary Cain Realty and Auctioneers; Gus's Goodies; McBane Insurance and Financial Services; Huntington Bank; PNC Bank; and the Ohio Lottery Commission. Sponsors on the national level providing prizes include Merriam-Webster Inc. and Encyclopaedia Britannica.
Once again, the bee has been coordinated by a committee chaired by Ron Sismondo at the Jefferson County Education Service Center. The hard work and dedication of the committee ensure the program runs smoothly each year. Their work Saturday helped the bee go off smoothly
We congratulate Fletcher on winning Saturday's bee, and wish her well in the national bee.