Sumter County- "That is incorrect," said pronouncer Boyce "Stick" Miller, to a team at the Bee for Literacy Thursday night.
That's the most dreaded word in any spelling bee, but especially this one, because this bee is tough team competition.
"When I could spell frou-frou, they said, you get to be on this year," said Sarah Jo Roush, a member of the Calvary Episcopal Church team.
Teams of three are given a word, but it should be one they know.
"They do give us books to study before they start," Roush said.
They get the chance to give it some thought and make a few notes. Then they take the leap, because that's who they're here for.
"If they don't do well, they just laugh and go on and have a good time," said Fran Ryan, Executive Director of the LEAP program.
Each team raises money for LEAP, whether they spell the words right or not. The Bee for Literacy raises between $8,000 and $10,000 for the LEAP program each year.
"All the people here know that the real winners are the people we serve and they're here just to help us raise money," Ryan said.
The money they raise goes to help any adult around get the knowledge they need to be in a bee.
"And folks like me get up there and make a fool of myself, it makes it just that much more fun," Roush said laughing.
Even when the night ends with that dreaded word. "That is incorrect."
posted by brannon.stewart@walb.com
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