National bee spells memories for Hughes family

By ERIC BERNSEE

Editor

WASHINGTON, D.C. - The 28th annual Scripps Howard Spelling Bee semifinals continued Thursday without nine-year-old Addison W. Hughes of Putnam County.

A South Putnam Central Elementary School fourth-grader, Hughes was one of 234 spellers eliminated Wednesday when the national contest cut the field of 275 competitors to 41 semifinalists.

Addison Hughes spells one of his two words correctly in National Spelling Bee competition June 1.

Semifinalists were determined Wednesday by a combined 25-word written test and two rounds of verbal spelling competition.

Hughes correctly spelled his round-two word (prosciutto) and his round-three word (Nisei), thus posting a total score of 22 after getting 16 of the 25 correct on the first-round written test. However, only spellers with total scores of 29 or better made the semifinals.

Addison, son of Adam and Beverly Hughes, Greencastle, was one of the three youngest spellers in the national competition. He and another speller are nine, while one eight-year-old also competed. Most of the semifinalists are in the 12 to 14-age range with just one 10-year-old and four who are 11.

So young Hughes, one of 13 Hoosier spellers to make the field after winning the rugged 18-round regional competition at Terre Haute in March, seemed to take it all in stride.

Addison Hughes of Putnam County stands next to U.S. Sen Richard Lugar (R-Ind.) in Washington D.C. Hughes didn't make the semifinals of the Scripps Howard Spelling Bee, but he plans to make another run at the title next year.

"After a few seconds of silence to let the news sink in, he told me, 'Well, I'm going to come back next year and win this,'" his father Adam told the Banner Graphic. "He even has a plan in mind for where to improve his 'game,' so I think we're in for another year of dictionaries and etymology (the study of words and their origins)."

Regardless of the outcome, the Hughes family thoroughly enjoyed the five-day experience in Washington, D.C., which included a visit with Sen. Richard Lugar (R-Ind.).

"Sen. Lugar took time out of his schedule to meet with us and a couple of other Hoosier bee families," Adam Hughes noted, "and that made quite an impression on Addison as well.

"The bee is very well run," the elder Hughes continued, "and they do a great job of making the spellers feel like stars, which they are, of course! Our own community has been wonderful to Addison in the run-up to D.C., too ... lots of folks have helped make this a great experience."

The Scripps National Spelling Bee is the nation's largest and longest-running educational promotion. Tens of thousands of schools and millions of students participate in the annual Scripps National Spelling Bee program. Spellers qualify to compete in the national contest by winning locally sponsored spelling bees in their home communities.