'Great Grown-up Spelling Bee' Returning This Month

Braintree Rotary Club and the South Shore Plaza will again be sponsoring this year’s “Great Grown-up Spelling Bee” on Saturday, October 19th at 11 a.m., in the Center Court (near Macy’s) at South Shore Plaza.

Like last year, all proceeds from this major fundraising event will benefit local 
educational and literacy programs. Other local programs funded by proceeds in year’s past included scholarships to high school seniors, youth sports, music and art programs, senior citizen events, and other charitable causes.

Braintree Rotary’s President-Elect, Eric McLaughlin, is organizing this year’s event. Reprising his role as Master of Ceremonies will be former Fox News Sports Commentator and Braintree native Butch Stearns.

Also helping organize the event will be Braintree Rotary President, Dr. Robert Marsh, Former Superintendent of Braintree Public Schools, Dr. Peter Kurzberg, and Marketing Director for the South Shore Plaza, Vicki Bartkiewicz. Vicki Bartkiewicz and Dr. Kurzberg were the originators of the first spelling bee and will team up again to ensure an even bigger and more successful event.

“South Shore Plaza is looking forward to hosting the Rotary Club’s Great Grown-up Spelling Bee again this year. This event has been a huge success the past 3 years, and we look forward to another successful event this year. We are happy to be a part of the community’s efforts to support local education,” said Bartkiewicz. 

Event organizer Eric McLaughlin is just as enthusiastic about this fundraiser.
“This event has become one of our club’s biggest fundraisers and has been growing in popularity year after year. 100% of the money raised goes to support our community and education projects, including scholarships for high school 
seniors, dictionaries and thesauruses for Braintree students through our Literacy Project, sponsorships for youth sports, social events for the elderly, and beautification in our neighborhoods. 

"As President-elect, I am responsible for working with club members to raise the funds that will be spent next year. Our club has seen a significant increase in requests for help from our local community. Fortunately, our club continues to grow year after year allowing us to fulfill those requests. We have a great organization whose efforts provide humanitarian service to our local community as well as fund projects throughout the world.”

The event will feature a panel of judges made up of local officials and dignitaries. A total of 24 four-member teams will compete for the coveted championship trophy and, of course, bragging rights for a year. Not the usual spelling bee format (where one misspelled word gets you eliminated) – this competition relies on the skill, knowledge, and combined efforts of the four members of each team – as well as opportunities for contestants to purchase extra chances such as ‘free turn’, and ‘try again’.

“This is not like the spelling bees you see on TV,” said McLaughlin. “No individual is put on the spot, and no one has to be a great speller to compete. Each team works collectively to spell the words and submits their answers as a team. Although it is a competition, the atmosphere of the event is very light-hearted 
and fun.”

He also stated that those interested in participating this year should register early because positions will be filled on a first-come basis and wants to thank South Shore Plaza for all of their efforts. 

“South Shore Plaza offers a very generous aspect to this event allowing us to sell mall advertising at a discount, giving businesses that normally could not afford to advertise at the mall an opportunity to do so.

In addition, Vicki Bartkiewicz, a 25-year veteran of mall marketing for Simon Malls helps the business create a compelling message to maximize their marketing dollar,” said Marsh. “This is a great way to spend a Saturday afternoon having fun while supporting a wonderful cause!” 

For further information about the Great Grown-up Spelling Bee or Rotary’s local efforts in general, please contact Eric McLaughlin 617.777.7208 or braintreerotaryclub@gmail.com.

–Braintree Rotary Club