WESTFIELD – Jeremy McCormick stepped up to the microphone and flawlessly spelled “inaugural”, which proved to be the final word of the 2015 “Words with Friends” Spelling Bee last night.
One hundred people filled Westfield State University’s Dever Auditorium for the annual city-wide event run by the the Circle K Club of Westfield State with assistance from the Volunteers in Public Schools (VIPS).
McCormick was the champion of the Southampton Road School Spelling Bee and become the fourth champion in the event’s history.
Each elementary school in the city held fifth-grade spelling bees late last month, with the top performing fifth-grade boy and girl from Abner Gibbs, Franklin Avenue, Highland, Juniper Park, Paper Mill, Southampton and St. Mary’s advancing to the “Words with Friends” event.
McCormick edged out the second- and third-place spellers, Isabella Gallo of Franklin Avenue and Emma LaPoint of Juniper Park, in a thrilling final round that had the audience whooping and clapping.
Prior to the event, which was moderated by Adam Wright, host of The Adam Wright Show on WHYN-AM 560, Westfield State Circle K President Brian Farrell saluted the contributions of VIPS coordinator and founder Barbara Trant, who retired at the end of January and served as an integral part in the spelling bee’s success.
New VIPS Coordinator Tina Macy was on hand last night for the event and said that following in the footsteps of a legend like Trant will be a tall order.
“It’s overwhelming to try and assume the role of someone who has done so much for the community,” said Macy. “She started something very special here 20 years ago.”
Macy said she shadowed Trant during her final week as coordinator and marveled at her ability to connect with people.
“We’re getting new volunteers in our schools all the time,” said Macy.
Ken Magarian, director of Advancement and University Relations at Westfield State University and a member of the Westfield Kiwanis Club, has helped coordinate the event with Circle K, the Kiwanis Club’s college wing. He worked with Trant for the past four years and prior to last night it was held in a lecture auditorium in Wilson Hall.
“We finally felt that we had enough people coming to it that Dever would be a better venue,” said Magarian. “Back then, we didn’t know how many people would be there, but we’re ready for (Dever). Plus it is a big deal for the kids.”
At the event’s conclusion, the students were all awarded medals for having won their individual school championships, but for McCormick, his victory meant that the championship trophy would be coming back to Southampton Road after a one-year absence.
His name will soon join the 2012, 2013 and 2014 champions Caleb Hazzard of Munger Hill, Sophia Taglieri of Southampton Road and Ryan Morash of Paper Mill on the trophy, which is adorned with a golden bumblebee.
McCormick described the feeling as “amazing.”
“Now I can take the trophy back to Southampton Road and show it to my friends,” he said. “We can all be happy about winning the trophy.”
It should come as no surprise that the 2015 Words with Friends champion loves to read and is an avid connoisseur of science and historical fiction, as well as fantasy literature.
Asked if he had any particular favorite authors, McCormick listed Canadian-American young adult novelist Gordon Korman and J.K. Rowling, author of the famed Harry Potter series.
McCormick’s parents Peter and Kathie were on hand to see their son win and it was Jeremy’s father who summed up the secret to his boy’s spelling prowess.
“She always read to him at night,” said Peter McCormick of his wife. “She never missed a night, even if he didn’t feel like it.”
McCormick’s Principal Kathleen O’Donnell was in attendance at Dever last night to watch him bring the hardware back home to Southampton Road.
“When we have our spelling bee at school last Friday, all the fourth-graders attend and so they’re very excited for the next year,” she said. “For the past four years, the kids have been watching and now when you have a winner again and the trophy goes back in the trophy case all year long. The kids know they’re going to be a part of it.”
“For him to win at our school was one thing but to have him come and beat the whole city? That’s huge,” said O’Donnell. “Tomorrow, his name is going to be on the announcements and all the kids are going to know that someone from Southampton Road was able to beat everyone in the city and that means a lot.”
