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The 2008 Lapeer County Spelling Bee will be held at 6:30 p.m. in the North Branch High School auditorium. Admission is free. Returning Lapeer County Spelling Bee champion Amanda Hardwick will defend her title.

Now a student at North Branch Middle School, Hardwick claimed the county spelling title last year as a student at Ruth Fox Elementary School and her winning word was vagabond.

Lately she's been practicing with her mother, Shanon. "I'm excited," Amanda said. "We've been practicing with the book. My mom asks me a word and marks the ones I get wrong."

Amanda claimed she is nervous about tonight's spelling bee, but added it helped that her family is there. "It makes me feel better," she said. "But I'm ready to go again this year."

Shannon, her mother, said she thought her daughter knew all this year's words from the booklet. Last year, Amanda represented Lapeer County in the Scripps National Spelling Bee, but Shannon said Amanda had a problem with the written test.

The experience of competing in spelling bees has changed her daughter. "I think it's brought her out of her shyness," Shannon said. "It's helped her be more outgoing because she mostly reads and keeps to herself."

Amanda is the daughter of Shannon and Shawn Hardwick.

This year's pronouncer will be Kate Pohjola, director of the Lapeer District Library. Spelling bee judges will be Mary Shelton-Wiese, executive director of the Family Literacy Center; Jeffrey Hogan, associate editor of The County Press; and Jennifer Decker, reporter with The County Press. Allison Brown of the Lapeer County Intermediate School District organized the spelling bee. The spelling bee is sponsored by The County Press.

Pohjola said the spelling bee is a good opportunity to encourage kids with confidence. "Athletes are always recognized and academics get neglected," Pohjola said. "I think it's important to recognize the talents of all students."

Pohjola was a second-place winner in her seventh-grade spelling bee, so she can relate to the spelling bee participant's nervousness. Her winning word was commercial that year and still has the trophy from the experience.

The County Press will also pay for an all-expense paid trip for the winner to the Scripps National Spelling Bee in Washington D.C. May 26-June 1.

The winner of the Lapeer County Spelling Bee will win a savings bond, a dictionary, a three-year subscription to Encyclopedia Britannica Online, and an Amazon.com gift certificate.

County Press Publisher Bill Southern said the spelling bee is a key event the newspaper stands firmly behind and supports. "It's something we're committed to," he said. "It's a key program to encourage literacy and engages school kids. We strongly support it."

The following students are contestants in the 2008 Lapeer County Spelling Bee: Almont Middle School: Matt Hajski, eighth-grade, Billy Fifield, eighth-grade, and Jacob Pewinski, sixth-grade; Borland Elementary: Aliyah Ferrara, fifth-grade, Dennis Parrott, fifth-grade, and Bernadette Rentschler, fifth-grade; Dryden Elementary: Jake Sliman, sixth-grade; Dryden Junior High: Zack Powell, eighth-grade; Heritage Christian Academy(North Branch): Josiah Byers, eighth-grade and Makenzy Bailey, sixth-grade; Imlay City Middle: Abbey Cohoon, eighth-grade, Jade Villanveva, seventh-grade, and Anthony Howard, sixth-grade; Lapeer East High School: Tom Nichols, eighth-grade, and Ashley Kirklin, eighth-grade; Lynch Elementary: Taylor Spicer, sixth-grade and Annette Williams, fifth-grade; Maple Grove Elementary: Tiffany Shurmur, sixth-grade; Mayfield Elementary: Travis Lusignan, sixth-grade and Ashley Johnson, fifth-grade; Murphy Elementary: Anneliese Petersmarck, fifth-grade and John Kopp, sixth-grade; North Branch Middle: Amanda Hardwick, seventh-grade, Chelsea Covey, eighth-grade, and Justin Mackenzie, seventh-grade; Ruth Fox Elementary: Niquole Caringi, fifth-grade, Jordan Stuck, sixth-grade, and Morgan Coulter, fifth-grade; Schickler Elementary: Tori Carlson, sixth-grader, and Tanner Foster, sixth-grade; Seaton Elementary: Danyelle Wolfe, sixth-grader, and Jessica Laidler, sixth-grade; The Chatfield School: Schyler Perkins, sixth-grade; Turrill Elementary: Brooke Cipielewski, fifth-grade; Zemmer Jr. High: Marian Tolen, seventh-grade, Haley Dinnan, seventh-grade, and Raychelle Zellinger, seventh-grade.

Jennifer Decker can be reached at (810) 664-0811, Ext. 8125 or jennifer.decker@lapeergroup.com