Local celebrities will be displaying their spelling skills on Nov. 19 at the Patterson Park Community Center for the 2008 Read to Succeed Celebrity Spelling Bee.
Mayor Tommy Bragg and Sheriff Truman Jones are just two of the 27 local celebrities and public figures who will participate in this year’s event to promote reading and family literacy in Rutherford County.
Ronnie Shaw, Executive Director of the non-profit organization Read to Succeed, said that the spelling bee is designed to be a fun way to reach citizens of Rutherford County about the importance of education.
“This friend and fund raiser was created to raise awareness about the importance of literacy,” Shaw said. “The idea here is that if the mayor is willing to humiliate himself in public for literacy, it must be important.”
The Celebrity Spelling Bee will take place from 7-9 p.m., opening with the skit “Burgess, Bragg & Co.” The spelling bee will follow, led by Master of Ceremonies, Rep. John Hood, and Mistress of Ceremonies, “The Queen Bee” Shelia Bratton.
The 2008 celebrity spellers are Barb Ford, Beth O’Brien, Bob Parks, Bob Priddy, Glenn Chrisman, Gloria Christy, Gordon Ferguson, Jim Bryant, John M. Green, Kaylene Gerbert, Kent Coleman, Kristen Demos, Lynn Lien, Mark Byrnes, Mary Esther Reed, Rachel Holder, Rami Shapiro, Randall Rickard, Rhea Seddon, Rick Sain, Rita Shacklett, Ronnie Erwin, Sam Stockard, Shane Reeves, Sue Andrews, Tom Tozer and Truman Jones.
Shaw said that all spelling bee contestants are participating because “they understand how important our mission to promote literacy is, especially during difficult economic time” and urges citizens to make donations to the Read to Succeed program by sponsoring a speller.
“A quick glance at the Celebrity Speller list for 2008 will give any potential donor an idea about who they might want to sponsor, even with a donation as small as five dollars,” Shaw said. “Anyone in the community can choose a speller and motivate friends, co-workers and fellow civic group members to also support that speller. Every little bit helps when we create literacy programming for the families of Rutherford County.”
Several local businesses and organizations have already shown their support for the local literacy cause, and Shaw said that these supporters want to motivate the community to give to Read to Succeed. Among the first $1,000 sponsors of the 2008 Celebrity Spelling Bee are Bill Taylor’s Bushido School of Karate, Dr. Elizabeth LaRoche and John Murray, Ernest and Peggy Burgess, The Gannett Foundation, Middle Tennessee Medical Center, MidState Neurosurgery, Read to Succeed Executive Board, The Rebecca and Jennings Jones Foundation, Rutherford Rotarians for Literacy, Southeastern Tire, Attorney David LaRoche, Colonial Pipeline and Adams Family Foundation.
Tickets for the 2008 Celebrity Spelling Bee may be purchased for $55 dollars each or $100 for two. Tickets include a 20 percent discount at local restaurants Tomato Tomato and Maple Street Grill that may be redeemed from Nov. 11-25.
To purchase tickets or make a donation of any amount, visit readtosucceed.org or send a check payable to Read To Succeed, P.O. Box 12161, Murfreesboro, TN 37129.
