Annual Daily Item Regional Spelling Bee Friday, March 14 at Lynn Auditorium

LYNN – The 29th Daily Item Regional Spelling Bee, part of the annual Scripps Howard National Spelling Bee, will be held at Lynn Auditorium on Friday, March 14, 2014, with the generous support of Joel and Mary Abramson, owners of Flagship Travel of Marblehead.Spellers are urged to arrive at the Auditorium at 5:30 p.m. for registration, and the spelling bee will begin promptly at 6:30 p.m.The Daily Item is the last North Shore regional daily newspaper still coordinating a regional Scripps bee, for students up to and including eighth grade. The winner advances to the national bee held in Washington, D.C. in late May.This year’s event includes 65 students from schools across eastern Massachusetts; 35 of the students are from The Item’s circulation area, including 17 from Lynn public and private schools.Prizes will be awarded for 1st; 2nd and 3rd place finishers, with four (4) runners-up prizes. The winner of the regional bee will receive hotel and travel expenses to participate in the National Spelling Bee. All spellers in the regional bee will receive a certificate of recognition along with a $10 Barnes and Noble Gift Certificate.Prizes for the annual Regional Spelling Bee are provided by Flagship Travel and the Abramsons, who support a number of local public and private education programs.Joel Abramson, a Lynn native and product of Lynn schools, said he and his wife consider the annual Regional Spelling Bee an increasingly vital competition and something they want to continue.”Unfortunately, kids today are so heavily dependent on mobile devices to check for spelling and grammar and mathematics,” Joel Abramson said. “That’s part of why the Regional Spelling Bee is so important. Learning how to spell and to write cursive are the very basic first steps of learning how to communicate.”Amber Born of Marblehead, winner of The Daily Item Regional Spelling Bee for the last four consecutive years, placed fourth overall last year, her last year of eligibility, in the nationally televised Scripps Bee. Amber will attend this year’s regional bee and offer some advice to this year’s participants.Lynn Mayor Judith Flanagan Kennedy will welcome the students to this year’s competition, and Brother’s Deli of Lynn will be donating a light dinner for the students.Daily Item General Manager Phil Ouellette, working with Lynn Community Development Director James Marsh, secured Lynn Auditorium as the site for the 2014 Regional Bee.”This will be our biggest Regional Spelling Bee in many years, and we’re fortunate to have such a great venue for it,” Ouellette said. “As the students demonstrate their spelling prowess, the Regional Bee is also another showcase event for downtown Lynn and Lynn Auditorium.”