Spelling Bee 10th anniversary

With the advent of "spell-check" on most computers, it might seem that strong spelling skills would become a thing of the past among young students. As it turns out, however, good spellers never go out of style - they simply try their best to qualify for the Derby Festival Spelling Bee.

Sponsored for all 10 years of its existence by Kentucky Farm Bureau, the Derby Festival Spelling Bee has grown in popularity every year.

"When we took over sponsorship in 1994, the competition was down to about 30 contestants," said Gary Huddleston, director of information and public relations for Kentucky Farm Bureau. "Now it's close to 60 students every year and there's the potential for more growth." There are 96 counties in Kentucky and Southern Indiana that are eligible for the Derby Festival competition. Of the 120 Kentucky counties, some are served by other sponsoring bees such as Covington's Kentucky Post. In 2004, the Derby Festival will welcome ten new counties to eligibility after their regional bee discontinues.

Huddleston said Kentucky Farm Bureau representatives even conduct several spelling bees each year in counties where one has not been organized. "If there's a county out in the state without a sanctioned spelling bee, we find a way to do it ourselves - that's been our commitment," he said. "We've had a lot of positive feedback from that. At the (Derby Festival Spelling Bee), parents have been very appreciative and make a point to come tell us that."

"A lot of kids get recognized for their achievements in athletics, but it's important to balance that with similar recognition for academics," said Huddleston. "We want to make sure that linguistic skills don't get de-emphasized. We've been very pleased with the growth of the Derby Festival Bee. It's been rewarding for everyone involved."

The 2002 Derby Festival Spelling Bee winner - nine-year-old John Tamplin of Jefferson County - was the event's youngest-ever champion. John bested 56 other contestants by correctly spelling "Guernsey" to clinch the victory. The event, which was also sponsored by Churchill Downs, was held at the Seelbach Hilton Hotel, a contributing sponsor, along with 84WHAS and KET. The bee was later rebroadcast statewide on KET.

The winner of the Derby Festival Spelling is the Kentucky state champion and advances to the Scripps Howard National Spelling Bee, held annually in Washington, D.C. The nationally televised event is the nation's largest and longest-running educational promotion, having been first held in 1925. Thanks to generous sponsors, the Derby Festival Spelling Bee champion receives an expense-paid trip to the National Spelling Bee, along with one parent, in addition to prizes from Merriam-Webster, a $100 savings bond and a Derby Festival trophy.

The very first National Spelling Bee, held in 1925, was sponsored by The Courier-Journal after the newspaper had conducted a statewide spelling competition for boys and girls of Kentucky graded schools. According to text from a 1930 brochure from the bee, "The Kentucky Education Association gave immediate and enthusiastic cooperation, and the preliminary phases of the match were so beneficial that luncheon clubs and other organizations in Louisville and various parts of the state put on separate matches to find their champion spellers."

"The Detroit News also had found that (coordinating a Spelling Bee) was a successful educational enterprise, and it readily accepted the invitation of The Courier-Journal to enter a National Spelling Bee, in which graded school champions of all sections of the country might meet." By 1929, there were twenty-one newspaper sponsors in states from Maine to Nebraska, each offering many local prizes among thousands of contestants. Today the Scripps Howard National Bee has contestants from every state and US territory as the result of locally-sponsored bees.

Not only was the very first National Spelling Bee sponsored by a Louisville newspaper, the first national champion was Frank Neuhauser of Louisville, who was then an 11-year-old student at the old St. Brigid School. Frank correctly spelled "gladiolus" to win the national competition held in Washington, D.C.

As national champion, Neuhauser was invited to meet President Calvin Coolidge and received a hero's welcome upon his return to Louisville. Frank went on to attend St. Xavier High School and graduated from the University of Louisville Speed School. Now age 89, he worked as a patent attorney before retiring to Potomac, Md. Mr. Neuhauser and his wife have been invited to attend this year's Spelling Bee as special guests for the 10th anniversary.