Tamara Rader (right) of Winfield Middle is the 2024 Putnam County Spelling Bee Champion. Ava Young (left) of Teays Valley Christian is Runner-Up.
Putnam County Schools kicked off the 2024 academic event season on Tuesday, January 9, with the annual Putnam County Spelling Bee hosted at Buffalo High School and sponsored by the Putnam County Library. School Spelling Bee Champions at the elementary and middle school levels competed for the coveted county champion title and the opportunity to represent Putnam County at the 2024 Gazette-Mail Regional Online Spelling Bee.
Tamara Rader of Winfield Middle spelled the championship word “rhythmically” in the 15th round to become the 2024 Putnam County Spelling Bee Champion. The Spelling Bee Runner-Up Ava Young is an elementary student at Teays Valley Christian. Both Tamara and Ava will advance to the Regional Bee this March. The winner of the Regional Bee will represent the state of West Virginia at the national competition in Washington, D.C.
Putnam County Library Director Megan Tarbett served as pronouncer. Judges were Lynda Rumbaugh, Elizabeth Hoh, and Susan Beck.
Individual School Spelling Bee Champions competing in the event were Buffalo Elementary, Caidy Wright; Calvary Baptist (Elementary), Ella Dunn; Calvary Baptist (Middle), Leah DeGroff; Confidence Elementary, Falcon McClung; Conner Street Elementary, Lilliana Kise; Eastbrook Elementary, Jefferson Moffatt; George Washington Elementary, Ason Moore; George Washington Middle, Clover Gibson; Hometown Elementary, Harper Pickering; Hurricane Town Elementary, Luca Malhotra; Hurricane Middle, Evan Taylor; Lakeside Elementary, Lucas Easter; Mountain View Elementary, Charlotte Hunt; Poca Elementary, Eli Aliff; Poca Middle, Ruston Fisher; Rock Branch Elementary, Aubrey Dawson; Scott Teays Elementary, Asher Knott; Teays Valley Christian (Elementary), Ava Young; Teays Valley Christian (Middle), Ashtin Atwood; West Teays Elementary, Rylee Caldwell; Winfield Elementary, Teeghan Payne; and Winfield Middle, Tamara Rader.
