Wyoming State Spelling Bee Winner
Spellers from all corners of the state gathered at Western Wyoming Community College (Western) in Rock Springs on April 1 to determine which of the many local spelling bee (bee) winners would represent Wyoming at the Scripps National Spelling Bee (National Bee), which will be held at the Gaylord National Resort and Convention Center in the Washington, D.C. area. The preliminary round will begin on May 30, with the finals held on June 1. Finals will be broadcast live on the ION network. The host for this year’s National Bee is acclaimed actor/director Levar Burton. Begun in 1925, the Bee is the nation’s oldest educational competition.
First place winner at the Wyoming State Bee was Cooper Smith, a sixth-grade student from Saratoga Middle/High School in Carbon County. Cooper will represent Wyoming at the National Bee. He received a $4,000 cash award from the Sweetwater Board of Cooperative Educational Services (BOCES) to assist with expenses involved in attending the National Bee. In addition to serving as Wyoming’s representative, Smith also received a one-year subscription to Britannica Online Premium, a one-year subscription to Merriam-Webster Unabridged Online Certificate, as well as the Samuel Louis Sugarman Award, consisting of a 2023 US Mint Proof Set.
The second place winner was Helen Feagin, a sixth-grade student at Jackson Hole Middle School in Teton County, who received a $200 cash award from Sweetwater BOCES. Third place was captured by an eighth-grade student from Clear Creek Middle School in Johnson County, Tye Tanachion, who received a $100 Sweetwater BOCES cash award.
The pronouncer for the event was Dave Lerner from Cheyenne, who has been the pronouncer for the State Bee for over ten years. A retired TV news anchor and reporter, he has also been the pronouncer and served on the Board of Directors for the AARP National Spelling Bee.
Jonathan Make of Cheyenne served as the Head Judge for the Bee. Jonathan has been a journalist for 30 years, most recently at the Wyoming Tribune Eagle. He has a BA from Reed College in Portland, Oregon, and a master's degree from George Washington University. He has worked at Union Pacific, run a newsletter publishing newsroom, and has also been employed with Bloomberg News. He has served in various leadership roles with the Society of Professional Journalists.
This year’s Wyoming State Spelling Bee was sponsored and produced by the Sweetwater BOCES, under the direction of Executive Director Dr. Bernadine Craft. Sweetwater BOCES was grateful for the assistance of the Wyoming Community Foundation, the employees of Western, Western Wyoming Beverages, and the Mad Hatter Bakery. Dr. Craft stated, “Sponsoring a State Spelling Bee is S-P-L-E-N-D-I-D! We could never have done it without the invaluable assistance of so many students and staff at Western, members of the Retired Teachers Association, and the Rock Springs community. We were gratified we could provide this exciting opportunity for so many outstanding young students from around the state.”
To keep up to date with events on campus visit Western’s calendar at westernwyoming.edu/calendar.