Let’s say you were standing on a stage and someone asked you to spell the word “fastuous.”

Do you think you could make that happen?

Well, Brheanna Boyles was able to calmly do just that after nearly two hours of competition on the afternoon of March 9 at Buckeye North Elementary School. As a result, the fifth-grader at Buckeye South Elementary School became the winner of this year’s Jefferson-Harrison County Regional Spelling Bee Presented by the Herald-Star.

By being able to correctly spell that word, an adjective which means haughty or arrogant, Boyles earned the right to represent our region in the Scripps National Spelling Bee, which will be held as part of Bee Week, which runs May 26 through May 31 at the Gaylord National Resort and Convention Center in the Washington, D.C., suburb of National Harbor, Md.

While the chance to compete at that level will be important, there will be plenty of time for Boyles and her family to get to know the other spellers and their families and to visit some of the sites in the Washington area.

Each of the 30 pupils who competed in the regional bee had survived a grueling process that included classroom bees, building bees and district bees. They had spent countless hours of preparation, a process that helped instill valuable lessons that will stay with them for the rest of their lives.

The Herald-Star is proud to have presented the bee since 1985. The program has continued to grow thanks to the help of local sponsors, which include Tri-State Financial Services, Special Tactics and Rescue Training, Borden Office Equipment, PNC Bank, the Mingo Junction Knights of Columbus, Encino Energy, Gary W. Cain Realtors and Auctioneers, Ascent Resources and the Ohio Lottery. Additional support comes from national prize donors, including Merriam-Webster Inc. and Encyclopaedia Britannica.

Making sure the program continues to be a success is Ron Sismondo, the director of curriculum and professional development of the Jefferson County Educational Service Center, and the staff at the center, as well as a committee of volunteers from area school districts and the newspaper.

According to Scripps, which has sponsored the national bee since 1925, millions of pupils participate in the program each year.

Of all of those competitors, only a couple of hundred will advance to the national bee. That places Boyles among an elite field, and we wish her well in the competition.