L-A-O-D-I-C-E-A-N winning word at State College spelling bee

STATE COLLEGE — Mid-State Literacy Council supporters came together on April 5 for the 18th annual Ron and Mary Maxwell Community Spelling Bee, hosted by Foxdale Village. 

The bee raised funds for basic literacy and English language instruction programs offered by the council. Sponsored by local companies, spellers included 19 three-person teams, the highest number of teams participating to date. Spellers were provided with words by wordsmith Martha Kolln, and the three final teams made their way to a seventh round.  

Taking top honors at the bee was ‘The Missspelt Yuth’ team, sponsored by Mass Mutual and the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Centre County. The team included Pam Short, Mark Hayes and Martha Butler. The winning word was L-A-O-D-I-C-E-A-N, which means “lukewarm or indifferent, especially in religion, as were the early Christians of Laodicea.” 

Second-place finishers were ‘The Comm-Oddities,’ sponsored by Galen Dreibelbis, and including Russell Frank, Mary Gage and Cindy Simmons. In third place were ‘The Three Spellateers,’ sponsored by Hamilton Square Shopping Center, in memory of Donna Litke. The team included Hillary Appleman, Jen Delozier and Ed Strause.

For more information, visit www.mid-stateliteracycouncil.org.