Rotary Spelling Bee helps promote literacy.  Anyone who saw these kids would know they were i-n-c-r-e-d-i-b-l-e.......just incredible!  Several Rotary Clubs from the region, including the Rotary Club of Belleville, got together on Saturday, May 7th to hold an Inter-Rotary Spelling Bee at the Greek Hall.  The event featured 39 students from schools throughout the Quinte area.  All of these students had won Spelling Bee competitions at their own schools to qualify for this event.  Pictured here is Past Rotary International President Wilf Wilkinson with some of the Spelling Bee participants (photographs courtesy of Jinni Demine).
 
Kai Siggens of St. Gregory Catholic School in Picton was the winner in the early-morning junior competition, which featured 20 competitors.  The intermediate competition was won by Aaron Harvey of C.M.L. Snider School in Wellington.  Aaron took home the top prize after a long battle with Katie Giradeau, a finalist from Prince Charles Trenton.  The final round had several stages and among the tricky words the finalists had to spell were -- fluoride, epidemic and discretion. 
 
The Belleville, Brighton, Quinte Sunrise, Trenton and Wellington Rotary Clubs contributed to this event (pictured here are three excited students from left to right, Jeffrey MacLean, Jacklyn Sherrow and Simon Saunders who placed 3rd, 2nd and 1st respectively at their school competition).  First place came with a prize of $100 for the student plus another $200 for the student's school.  The Spelling Bee is one of many projects Rotary Clubs are involved with this year as part of a campaign to promote literacy.  All of the students were amazing, the "creme de la creme".........and don't ask us how to spell that!