BY SARAH GREGORY
STAFF WRITER
Jessica Cox from Mosheim Middle School successfully spelled "ingenious" and "salinity" in the final round to take first place in the 2013 Greene County Schools system-wide spelling bee.
Participating in the event at Mosheim Middle School Tuesday evening were 37 students who had advanced from school-level competitions.
Cox will go on to compete in the 2013 Southern Appalachia Regional Spelling Bee.
The regional event will be held March 16 at the Alumni Memorial Center on the campus at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville.
WINNERS AWARDED
First- through fourth-place winners were recognized with trophies and monetary awards. They were, in addition to Jessica Cox:
* Abilene Hurd, Mosheim Middle School, second place;
* Samantha Crowder, Glenwood Elementary School, third place; and,
* Adam Hamer, Mosheim Middle School, fourth place.
Judy Phillips, assistant director of the Greene County School System, presented the trophies.
Monetary awards were presented by Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 1990.
Commander Gary Veason and Vice-Commander Roger Carter represented the VFW post. Veason spoke about his pride in the students and teachers for their hard work.
At the start of the event, Dr. Kristi Wallin, principal of Mosheim Elementary/Middle School, welcomed parents and guests.
Wallin also introduced Yhona Jones, system supervisor, and coordinator of the system-wide spelling bee, who read the spelling bee rules.
Paula Smith, system psychologist, was the "pronouncer" for the event.
Judges were Debra Boles, Greene County School System supervisor; and Amber Potter, the system's speech pathologist.
