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From left, adult spellers Reina Adriano, Brianna Francoeur, Leslie Holcombe and Martha Pitt. -
Blue-ribbon winner Jerry Goodwin of Sharon. -
Second-place winner Louisa Holcombe. -
From left, brothers Tommy, Jackson and Caiden Place at the Greenfield Spelling Bee. -
Greenfield resident Bobby Sweet competed for the second time this year. -
Elijah Bennett of Greenfield spells a word. -
From left, Tommy Place, Louisa Holcombe, Bobby Sweet, Caiden Place, Jerry Goodwin, Elijah Bennett and Eleanor Parker.
Organizer Billie Jean Greene said all spellers had a positive experience during the second Greenfield Spelling Bee Saturday at Greenfield Elementary School.
The event was sponsored by the Stephenson Memorial Library and the Friends of the Greenfield Community Meetinghouse.
“It was a wonderful event, and I am deeply appreciative of everyone who signed up and braved the stage, supported us, sponsored the event and showed up,” Greene said.
Greene especially thanked Elijah Bennet, whose round went to a tiebreaker; Eleanor Parker, who “registered on the spot;” and Tommy Place, the “youngest first-time speller so far.”
“The tricky part is making sure every speller has a word that is appropriate for them, as the children are all different ages but they are competing against one another,” Greene said.
Ella Cademartori, director of Stephenson Library, was the officiant.
This year’s spelling bee included adult spellers for the first time, with most of them coming from outside Greenfield.
“We had a little bit of a lower turnout because there were a lot of other events going on in town today, like the fishing derby and Little League, so we might move it back a few weeks next year, but it was a great event and we are so thankful to our spellers for coming out this year,” Greene said.
Members of the Friends of the Greenfield Community Meetinghouse, including Carele Mayer, Linda Dodge, Penelope Beal, Victoria Yerkes, Denise Poulin and Pam Cornwell, provided treats for the bake sale.
The Greenfield Historical Society also donated supplies to the event. The event raised about $500 for the Greenfield Community Meetinghouse.
Winners were as follows:
Jerry Goodwin of Sharon – first place.
Louisa Holcombe of Bennington – second place.
Bobby Sweet of Greenfield -third place.
Caiden Place of Greenfield – fourth place.
Adult spelling bee
Martha Pitt of Greenfield – first place.
Reina Adriano of Bennington – second place.
Brianna Francoeur of Milford – third place.
Leslie Holcombe of Bennington – fourth place.
Jesseca Timmons is secretary of Friends of the Greenfield Community Meetinghouse.