Houston READ Commission announces 11th Annual Great Grown-Up Spelling Bee

Be temerarious! Rather than suffer from a lackadaisical form of ennui this September, instead perambulate to the Houston READ Commission’s 11th Annual Great Grown-Up Spelling Bee. The event will take place on Thursday, September 17, at the High School for the Performing and Visual Arts (HSPVA), 4001 Stanford. Registration will take place at 5:30 p.m., and the First Round will begin at 6:00 p.m.
“Last year’s bee will be hard to beat, as the final round ended with flooding from Hurricane Allison,” says Dr. David Wingard, acting executive director of the Houston READ Commission. “But what we lack in floodage, we’ll make up for with entertainment, food, and a fun-packed evening filled with big words cautiously spelled. We invite you to participate by hosting a team of three persons from your organization, or by sponsoring a team from the community. This year, we’re going all out to make it a night to be remembered.”

The goal of the Houston READ Commission is 100% literacy in Houston. Currently, approximately one in three adult Houstonians are illiterate, and the Commission offers free literacy services in response. The spelling bee and other annual events like it serve to enhance awareness of the need to increase literacy in Houston and, at the same time, raise funds for the Commission.

Food will be provided and the entertainment includes celebrity judges and live music between rounds.

Past winners of the Great Grown-Up Spelling Bee include the Houston Bar Association, KTRK-TV Channel 13, the Houston Chronicle, and Baker & Botts, L.L.P.

Sign up today by calling our Special Events Coordinator, Sean K. Thompson, at 713-845-2591, or via email at seant@houread.org.

About the Houston READ Commission
The Houston READ Commission is a non-profit urban literacy coalition that makes free literacy services available and accessible to adults and families. Established in 1988 by the Mayor and City Council of Houston, it is now one of the largest urban literacy coalitions of its kind in the United States with more than 150 members collaborating to combat illiteracy and promote economic self-sufficiency by offering programs in adult basic education, GED preparation, English as a Second Language, family literacy, life skills, pre-employment and workplace skills, workforce development and financial literacy. To learn more, contact the Houston READ Commission Helpline at 713-228-1800 or visit
www.houread.org.