Winners will advance to State Bee in March.
By Tara Danielle Pridy, Spelling Bee Chairman
HADDONFIELD -- A fifth grader from Evans School in Marlton won the Garden District Spelling Bee in Haddonfield on Feb. 7. New Jersey State Federation of Women's Clubs' top three finalists, all in fifth grade, include:
1st place -- Mohit Ambe, Marlton Women's Club
2nd place -- Lorelie Juntti-Heese, Women's Club of Woodbury
3rd place -- Jaci Gismondi, West Deptford Junior Women's Club
All contestants received certificates, and the top three winners earned Visa gift cards thanks to a grant from ExxonMobil. Alexander Kwak placed in fourth, and is the alternate for the State Spelling Bee. Kwak was sponsored by The Haddon Fortnightly. Second place winner Lorelei Juntti-Heese of Evergreen Avenue Elementary School also competed as a fourth grader in last year's District Bee.
Contestants included Josh Hummel, Ava Costello and Aubrey Donahue sponsored by Gloucester County Women's Club; Shruti Mandrekar, Akshath Thavanai and Mohit Ambe sponsored by Marlton Woman's Club; Josh Green, Matthew Baker and Paige Venable sponsored by Woman's Club of Medford; Lucy Kerr, Sophia Hudec and Cassandra Nicdao sponsored by Woman's Club of Merchantville; Lilliana Kuball, Sophie Levine and Alexander Kwak sponsored by The Haddon Fortnightly; Jaci Gismondi, Gavin Zuzulock and Gina Lucano sponsored by West Deptford Junior Women's Club; Lorelie Heese, Ellie Allamby and Nyasia Lynch sponsored by Woman's Club of Woodbury; and Kellyn Hackett-Slimm, Aidan Longacre, and Samantha Vilary sponsored by Junior Women's Club of Woodstown.
John Giannotti, a longtime Rutgers-Camden professor and former Chair of the Fine Arts Department, served as a marvelous pronouncer. Three esteemed judges were Haddonfield Commissioner John Moscatelli, retired English and Latin teacher Patricia Underwood, and former Pennsauken Mayor and President of the NJSFWC Garden District, Geraldine Tabako.
In order to compete in the spelling bee, each of the 23 fourth and fifth grade contestants first had to be among the top three winners of their club spelling bee sponsored by a Woman's Club or Juniors Club in their local area. At this level, thousands of fourth and fifth graders across New Jersey are involved in the competition but just three will move on to the State Bee in New Brunswick on March 5.
For more information, visit www.njsfwc.org.