Lawyers for Literacy Spelling Bee S-U-C-C-E-S-S!

3rd annual Lawyers for Literacy Spelling Bee raises funds, awareness for literacy in Central Florida

Local attorneys cheered on as 11 teams competed to become the 2012 Spelling Bee Champion of the Year. The spirited competition ended in a draw with Lowndes, Drosdick, Doster, Kantor & Reed and GrayRobinson as spelling bee champs. But the true victors of the event are the students and families enrolled in literacy programs at the Adult Literacy League. 

Special thanks to the Young Lawyers Section of the Orange County Bar Association for planning the 3rd Annual Lawyers for Literacy Spelling Bee on October 18th at the Sheraton Orlando Downtown Hotel. This event raised just over $21,000 for our literacy services and a total of $57,000 since it began in 2010. The Planning Committee was led by dynamic trio Daryl Gottlieb, Melinda Wimbish and Davis Lewis and included Jennifer White, Kayla Mudge, Steven Kahana, Kelley Lester, Amanda Diane Perry and Matt Ferry.

Mayanne Downs, past president of The Florida Bar, kept the 200 attendees chuckling as the evening’s emcee adding humor and cheer to the competition. Guest judges Jim Payne, news anchor of WESH TV and Thaddeus Seymour, president emeritus of Rollins College, kept spellers on track while radio personality Erica Lee assumed a new role as beekeeper, ensuring a fun, yet fair competition for the evening. ALL Board Vice President Brendan Lynch welcomed guests while student Solangel Mederos spoke on how the ALL helped her earn her GED. Planning Chair Daryl Gottlieb encouraged attendees to help the ALL “do justice” by donating their time and resources to improving literacy.

ALL would also like to thank our sponsors including the inaugural Golden Bee sponsor Killgore Pearlman Stamp Ornstein & Squires. Special thanks to our incredible Host Committee, chaired by Alana Brenner from the City of Orlando. She was joined by Joe Amos, Grey Squires-Binford, Ryan Davis, Amy Iennaco, Jim Lussier, Woody Rodriguez and Thomas Yaegers.

For a list of this year’s sponsors, visit www.adultliteracyleague.org/spellingbee/sponsors.html 

To view photos of the event, visit https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10151099686209007.430532.182695979006&type=1&l=8cdc1d5579