Branham is the New Phillips County Spelling Bee Champion

As the County Spelling Bee headed into Round 30, last Wednesday, February 8, 2022 Champion Finn Witmer, once again a contestant, knew someone would be crowned the new champion, as he had already been eliminated from competition. It didn't stop him from paying close attention to the spelling and pronunciation of words for the remaining contestants.

Twenty-eight students representing Dodson, Malta Middle School, Whitewater, Saco, Malta Elementary, the East (Hutterite) Colony, and the Homeschool program all showed up with a small case of the jitters, wringing hands, and even a parched voice or two.

When things were on a roll, and narrowed down substantially, it came down to Salma Addy of Dodson, and Peyton Branham and Titus Wiederrick of Malta Middle School vying for the title.

With a strong and assured voice, it was Peyton Branham that emerged as the 2023 Phillips County Spelling Bee Champion.

The title wasn't an easy one to secure, by any means. It took 12 rounds between Peyton and Titus to determine a winner. Twelve rounds of back and forth, exchanging word for word, in a calm and confident manner.

Titus misspelled the word, "conscripted," and with the correct spelling of "crestfallen" and "tactically," Peyton was the '23 Bee-st Speller.

Mrs. Darlene Kolczak (retired Supt. of Schools) served as the announcer, and she had selected (PCSO Deputy) Maria Buchseller, (Phillips County Justice of the Peace) Gayle Stahl, and Jane Knudsen (Malta School District Clerk) as judges for this year's competition.

With each new word, she told the competitors they could have the word repeated, or ask if it was a noun or other part of speech. They could also have the word used in a sentence. They were then told to say the word, s-p-e-l-l the word, and again, repeat the word.

Mrs. Kolczak got so wrapped up in the process that she announced the word for one student and the student then asked if she would use it in a sentence. To the amazement of the audience, the contestants and judges, Mrs. Kolczak looked at the student and then spelled the word! The action brought dropped jaws off the floor and turned them into smiles and laughter. Everyone then knew she knew how to spell it, and calmly provided the youth with a new word.

Peyton's sister, Sadie, was the 2020 winner of the Bee. Other families have a history with spelling as well. In 1977 and 1978 Debbie Phillips took the honor home to Dodson; Valarie Barton (Saco) took runner-up in 1978 and won the event in 1979. Siblings, Dan and Barbie Waters each placed as runner-up in 1987 and 1994, respectively. Daniel Low warmed up the runner-up positon in 1988 and returned in 1989 to take home the winner trophy. In 1991 and 1992, Lacy Lodmell came in as runner-up both years.

Three of the four Reichelt boys of Whitewater started their winning days with Kirk placing first in 1994, second in 1995 and first again in 1999. Brother, Kenneth, won runner-up in 2000, and brother, Kalvin received runner-up hardware in 2001, and took home the trophy for first place in 2002.

Shannon Brady was a two-time placer, as runner-up in 1997 and winning first place in 1998. Saco's Justin Funk took first in 2008, runner-up in 2010, and again placed first in 2011. Whitewater's Hannah Handley received runner-up in 2017 and emerged as the Bee Champion in 2018. The 2018 runner-up Junior Stiffarm, of Dodson, returned in 2019 to again take runner-up honors.

The event took approximately an hour, and classmates, teachers, parents and grandparents were able to witness the selection of the 2023 County Spelling Bee Champion, Peyton Branham. Congratulations to all who were part of this year's competition, great sportsmanship, and a great representation of youth skills and abilities.