CLE Bee 7 Recap

On September 21, 2022, The Literacy Cooperative hosted CLE Bee 7 at Windows on the River after two years of celebrating virtually! CLE Bee is an adult spelling bee and The Literacy Cooperative’s largest annual fundraiser.

The Bee was buzzing (yes, we went there)! The event began with a cocktail hour where teams and guests enjoyed food and posed for selfies letting everyone know the team they were rooting for. The big event followed and was started with a warm welcome from Board Chair, Emily Campbell, and a special video message from Cleveland Mayor, Justin Bibb. The Literacy Cooperative President & CEO, Bob Paponetti discussed the importance of literacy, and the initiatives of The Literacy Cooperative. Then Cuyahoga County Councilmember, Cheryl Stephens, and Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library parent, Tomika Johnson discussed the importance of Imagination Library for her family. Tomika expressed how much her children enjoy and benefit from the free book-giving initiative!  Tomika also participated in a 2Gen program led by Towards Employment.  Adaora Schmiedl from Towards Employment talked about their participation on the 2Gen Steering Committee.

Emcee Mike McIntyre, Judge John Russo, and word readers Homa Bash and Mike Snyder kept the energy moving during the competition. It was a fierce battle of the brains with the audience watching in anticipation of every word. Six teams advanced to the championship round — Benesch Law, Starting Point, Cleveland Public Library, Overdrive, Cuyahoga County Public Library, and Corrigan Krause/DMS Management Solutions.

THE 2022 CHAMPION was… Benesch Law! The winning word was TRISKAIDEKAPHOBIA, wow, what a doozy. Congratulations Benesch and to all who took on the spelling challenge. Those were some difficult words!

With sincere gratitude to:

• The speakers for the event: Mike McIntyre, Mike Snyder, Homa Bash, Mayor Justin Bibb, Cheryl Stephens, Emily Campbell, Judge Russo, Adaora Schmiedl, and Tomika Johnson.
• The sponsors for your support and making this evening possible.
• The teams for being good sports and having fun.
• The volunteers for keeping the wheels moving on a very detailed event.
• The guests for being the best cheerleaders.

The CLE Bee 7 Teams and Sponsors: