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One of the interesting aspects of preparing for the annual Jefferson-Harrison Regional Spelling Bee is reading the names of the multiple winners who have been a part of the program.
The Herald-Star has presented the bee since its inception in the 1984-85 school year and there have been nine participants who have won more than once -- three who won in nonconsecutive years, and one who finished in the top spot three times.
Jimmy Yoo, who represented Steubenville City Schools, was the first winner. It was just a few years later that Amy Francy became the first two-time winner. Francy, who represented the Diocese of Steubenville Schools, took the top spot in 1988 and 1990. Finishing first in 1989 was Angela Zeroski of the Buckeye Local School District.
Francy helped to set the stage for Erica Williamson, who represented the Edison Local School District when she did something no other speller in the nearly 40 years of competition ever has done -- she was a three-time winner, claiming the crown in 1991, 1992 and 1993.
Another Zeroski -- Angela's brother, Frank -- became the next multiple winner, finishing first in 1996 and 1997.
It would be seven more years before there was another multiple winner. That happened in 2004, when Derek Gavorcik of SouthWest Middle School finished first, repeating what he first accomplished in 2002. Kristin Cummings of Karaffa Middle School claimed the victory in 2003.
Meadow Jackson was the next multiple winner, accomplishing that feat by doing something no one else ever has. She won in 2008 while a pupil at All-Saints Elementary School and in 2009 while a pupil at the Jefferson County Christian School.
She was followed by Dharani Kotekal of Indian Creek Junior High School, who won in 2010 and 2012, with another Indian Creek Junior High School pupil -- Briana Piergallini -- taking the win in 2011.
Nathan Keenan of Toronto Junior-Senior High School finished first in 2013 and 2014; Grace McKeegan, a home-schooled pupil, was first in 2017 and 2018; and Andrew Macdonald finished first in 2022 and 2023.
While it's impossible to know who will win the regional bee, it's a safe bet that there won't be another consecutive winner added to the list when this year's regional bee is held at 11 a.m. on March 9 at Buckeye North Elementary School in Brilliant -- Macdonald has aged out of the competition.
This year's regional bee will look a little different from the bees of the past. The field will be much smaller.
Instead of the top eight and two alternates who qualified from the school district bees during the last several years, only the top five and one alternate advanced from the district bees. You'll have the chance to learn a little bit about each of them later this week, when our annual bee special section will be included in the newspaper.
That doesn't mean the competition will be any less intense. There is, after all, an expenses-paid trip to the Washington, D.C., suburb of National Harbor, Md., and a spot in the Scripps National Spelling Bee on the line, as well as numerous prizes, including $250 in cash, a one-year subscription to the online version of the Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary; a one-year subscription to Britannica Online Premium from Encyclopaedia Britannica; the Samuel Louis Sugarman Award (a 2024 United State Mint proof set); a one-year subscription to Epic Family; and eight live, one-on-one coding classes and a one-year home subscription to Tynker.
Pupils who finish in second through fifth place also receive several prizes, and all competitors will receive a bobblehead courtesy of the Herald-Star and Eastern Gateway Community College, and a bookbag from PNC Bank.
Each of the participants in the regional bee has been preparing for the bee since right after school resumed in August, and has gone through classroom and building competitions before getting to participate at the district level. That's an awful lot of time spent studying.
Even that aspect has changed during the years. While memorization once was the biggest part of preparation for the bee, today's competitors now must be prepared to know the definition of a word and its language of origin -- aspects that can be asked of the pronouncer.
Ron Sismondo, director of curriculum and professional development at the Jefferson County Educational Service Center, again is serving as bee coordinator. He and his staff work hard year-round to ensure all who participate have a good experience.
Also helping to make the event possible is a roster of sponsors on the local, state and national levels, including Merriam-Webster Inc., which also provided a copy of the 11th edition of its Collegiate Dictionary which will go to the second-place finisher, in addition to its other support.
Local sponsors include S.T.A.R.T., Ascent Resources, Mingo Knights of Columbus, Tri-State Financial Services, Gary W. Cain Realtors and Auctioneers, Borden Office Equipment, Encino Energy, PNC Bank and Eastern Gateway Community College.
Each of the spellers who will compete in the regional bee has worked hard to earn their spot. We hope you'll join us to support them on March 9.
(Gallabrese, a resident of Steubenville, is executive editor of the Herald-Star and The Weirton Daily Times.)