Gather your best grammarian friends and form a team for the Tioga United Way’s first annual Adult Spelling Bee, which will be held April 9 at the Owego ELKS Lodge.
Announcer for the event will be former Navy helicopter test pilot and past District Governor of Rotary District 7170, Orville Wright, who will be joined by Paula Smith, former St. Patrick’s School Principal; Karen Vinti, Owego Police Department Chief; and Renovus Solar General Manager, Jon McNamara, who will serve as judges.
The Spelling Bee will highlight the importance of literacy and education, as well as the importance of bees to our ecological system and our food supply. On hand will be the Literacy Volunteers of Broome / Tioga Counties, Inc., along with TCCE Master Gardeners, the H&J Bee Farm (Thomas Babcock’s honey), and the Old Orchard Farm.
A silent auction will feature seven “Celebrity Lunches,” including New York State Senator Fred Akshar; Riverow Bookshop Owner Laura Spencer Eberly; President and CEO of Tioga State Bank Robert Fisher; Tioga County Sheriff Gary Howard; Owego Police Department Chief Karen Vinti; and celebrities from WEBO. Most celebrity lunches will take place at a local Tioga County restaurant and Tioga United Way will foot the bill. Sheriff Howard’s highest bidder, however, will dine in the County jailhouse with a meal served to prisoners.
For those of you wanting to enjoy lunch outside of Tioga County, Adam Weitsman, owner of Upstate Shredding, will fly the highest bidder and their guest on the company’s private jet, a Gulfstream G200, to New York City for lunch at a restaurant of the winning bidder’s choosing.
Online bidding for the Silent Auction is available March 1 through April 8 at tiogaunitedway.com. Bidding will then continue at the Spelling Bee. Bidding is open to the public and the winner will be announced at the closing ceremony (winner need not be present).
Spelling Bee teams should include two to five people who will listen to the words and write the correct spellings on paper. All teams must register online at tiogaunitedway.com or by calling (607) 687-4028. To enter, each team will contribute $100. If spelling just isn’t your thing, but you would like to join in the festivities and support a worthy cause, there’s a $5 admission.
The Tioga United Way would like to offer a special thanks to their sponsors: Adam Weitsman of Upstate Shredding, Buffie Ahrbal’s State Farm Insurance, the Calaboose Grille, the Farmhouse Brewery, Owego Elks Club, News Radio WEBO, and Literacy Volunteers of Broome/Tioga Counties, Inc.
All proceeds from the event go toward the 31 partner agencies of the Tioga United Way.
