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02/23/2016 12:45 PMSpellcheck wont be able to help you with this one. The Guilford Fund for Education (GFFE) is hosting its 10th annual Adult Spelling Bee Friday, March 11 from 7:30 to 9:30 p.m. at the new Guilford High School Auditorium and teams are already getting ready for the competition.
Teams of three are invited to join and compete for the Best of the Hive prize. Teams are encouraged to dress up and the night will also include a raffle and a food court. The event itself is open to the public
Leslie Krumholz, one of the original founders of the Bee along with Joe Goldberg and Daniel Smith, said she was thrilled to see it grow and change over the years.
“It has evolved into an annual town event that includes people and organizations from every part of the community,” she said. “I love seeing all the returning teams, year after year, as well as new folks getting involved.”
All proceeds from the event benefit the GFFE, a nonprofit group that works to promote a passion for learning and to fund initiatives that fall outside the Guilford Public School budget. Over the years, GFFE has raised more than $250,000 for education projects.
Krumholz said a Bee was the perfect way to get the community involved in their mission and bring people together.
“When we started the GFFE, we wanted to be sure that any fundraising activities we asked the community to participate in would be both educational and innovative, because that was exactly what we were asking our grant applicants to show us,” she said. “It was foundational to our mission.”
In honor of the 10th anniversary, this year the Bee will feature a special video highlighting how the GFFE’s fundraising has affected the school district, according to Bee co-Chairwoman Maureen Belden.
“We will be showing a new video created for us by the Guilford High School Film Club, highlighting the many grants GFFE has awarded in its first 10 years,” she said. “We are also going to have some amazing decor and signage celebrating all 10 Bees and the teams that have participated.”
While it is important to mark the anniversary, Krumholz said the event is still about having educational fun and making sure the event is still around in ten more years.
“When we founded the GFFE, it was with a belief that it will be run by volunteers who have a passion for education and who also share a vision for innovation and ‘blue sky ideas,’” she said. “So my hope is that as new people cycle through, on the Board of Directors and on the various committees, they bring with it their own ideas and vision. I would be most excited to see how it might change in the next decade—what I wouldn’t want to ever see, is for it to end!”
Co-founder Daniel Smith emphasized the uniqueness of the event and encouraged everyone to come out and enjoy the event.
“My sense is technology is taking over just about every industry so here we are in little Guilford and we are creating a really old-fashioned, low-tech spelling bee and just bringing all walks of the community together. [In] how many communities can you go out and do that and have a blast for 10 consecutive years and raise money for your kids?” he said. “It doesn’t get any better.”
To learn more about the Spelling Bee or to register a team (the cost is $225), visit www.gffe.org. Registration ends Friday, March 4.