The team from St. Mary’s Episcopal Church captured its second consecutive title at the 2023 Adult Spelling Bee. It hardly mattered that the second came three years after the first.

Suspended during the pandemic, the contest organized by the Lenoir County Education Foundation and the Lenoir County Chamber of Commerce, its parent group, bounced back in a big way Tuesday, attracting a record number of teams and raising more than $8,000 for its teacher mini-grant program.

“Defending champs!” St. Mary’s team captain Lee Albritton exulted after the final called word – abecedarian – left the team along at the top. Albritton, Kathy Hyler and Vicky Kennedy returned from the 2019 team with Bill Anderson joining this year as the fourth member.

A team from Lenoir Community College and a team from EB Frink Middle School finished second and third, respectively. Both teams missed the final word and their places on the podium were based on the fewest misses. A rule unique to the Adult Spelling Bee allows teams to buy their way out of a spelling error with a $20 contribution to the Education Foundation.

Spelling for LCC were Catherine Hardee, Dr. Jarrett Whelan, Sterling Cullipher and Maria Messner. Frink’s team was principal Michael Moon and faculty members Lauran Smith, Rachel Jones and Rachel Wallace.

The Spirit Award went to a team from La Grange Elementary School –Sarah Winnie, Pamela Creech, Georgia Tingen and Caroline Rocha.

“This was a fantastic, fun event!” Vickie Jones, the Chamber’s executive director, said. “We are already making plans to have an even bigger event next year – more teams, more opportunities to participate and even a few fun twists!”

The Adult Spelling Bee is the Education Foundation’s second-largest fundraiser behind its annual golf tournament. Together, the two events raise thousands of dollars to be distributed as mini-grants to Lenoir County Public School teachers. Its 2022 grant program provided 56 grants valued at $23,848 to teachers at 11 schools.

“The reality is a lot of teachers spend their own money on school supplies. They feel it’s necessary to help their students to learn and feel more comfortable in the classroom,” Vickie Jones said. “With recent inflation and rising prices, the efforts of the Lenoir County Education Foundation is even more critical. The Foundation gives out mini-grants to Lenoir County School teachers to be used in their classrooms.”