Dallas to Host Regional Spelling Bee

The 61^st Annual Golden Chick Dallas Regional Spelling Bee presented by the Dallas Sports Commission will be held Saturday, March 9^th at the George W. Bush Presidential Center, 2943 SMU Boulevard, Dallas. The program tapes at 1:00 p.m. and will be broadcast on WFAA-TV, Channel 8 on Saturday, March 16^th from 12:00 p.m. – 1:00 p.m. Chris Lawrence, WFAA-TV News Anchor, will emcee the program.

The Dallas Sports Commission will be advancing the top two spellers from the Regional Bee to the Scripps National Spelling Bee for the second consecutive year. Both champions and their parents will receive all-expense paid trips to Washington D.C. where they will represent North and East Texas in the national competition, taking place May 26-31, 2019. Additional information on the National Bee is available from Scripps at www.spellingbee.com.

Last year, the top three finishers at the Scripps National Spelling Bee were from the Dallas Region. Karthik Nemmani of McKinney captured the national title over second-place finisher Naysa Modi of Frisco and Abhijay Kodali of Flower Mound finished third.  Modi and Kodali were co-winners of the 2018 Dallas Regional Spelling Bee while Nemmani was a “RSVBee” entrant for the National Bee.

“We are excited to support this event and be the title sponsor. We feel the Spelling Bee is a family centric event that is very much a part of Golden Chick’s values and how we connect with the community,” said Mark Parmerlee, President and CEO of Golden Chick.

Twenty-six contestants from 20 counties will compete.  These contestants represent the best of approximately 100,000 students from over 700 schools who competed in school bees throughout North and East Texas. Six contestants from the 2018 Dallas Regional Bee have advanced to participate in the 2019 Regional Bee.

To qualify for the Regional Spelling Bee, contestants must be in grades four through eight and win their individual school bee and local county bee. More information on The Golden Chick Dallas Regional Spelling Bee can be found at www.dallasspellingbee.com.

“We are proud to again be a part of such a great community tradition in the Golden Chick Dallas Regional Spelling Bee,” said Monica Paul, Dallas Sports Commission Executive Director. “The Dallas Region is recognized as one of the best in the country, evident by our spellers taking first, second and third at the 2018 National Bee.  The 26 students have worked very hard to reach the Regional Bee and we look forward to our spellers advancing to the Scripps National Spelling Bee in National Harbor, Maryland.”

Timeline of The Golden Chick Dallas Regional Spelling Bee presented by the Dallas Sports Commission for Saturday, March 9 is as follows:

• 10:45 a.m. Bee contestants and their parents arrive for registration in the Bush Institute lobby
• 11:15 a.m. Orientation and Briefing in Hall of State Room
• 11:35 a.m. Contestants and parents enter Bush Auditorium
• 11:45 a.m. Contestants do a practice round
• 1:00 p.m. Bee broadcast taping begins
• 2:00 p.m. Broadcast taping concludes, winner is available for interviews

Saturday, March 16 – 12:00 p.m. Bee airs on WFAA

This year’s bee sponsors include Golden Chick, CareNow, Credit Union of Texas, Crown Trophy Plano, Children’s Health, Dallas Stars, Dallas Mavericks, FC Dallas and WFAA.