Northampton Education Foundation’s 22nd annual Adult Spelling Bee on Oct. 22 was a great success! Thanks to our generous community, we raised more than $12,000 for NEF’s Small Grants to Educators program, which supports innovative teaching and learning initiatives in Northampton’s public schools and Smith Vocational and Agricultural High School. Congratulations to the UMassFive Hive, who won the Bee by correctly spelling ”exergue!”

Please join us in thanking our sponsors: NEF’s 2024-25 event sponsors: Emerald Level — DA Sullivan & Sons; Friends of Marcia Burick; Greenfield Savings Bank; Marisa Labozzetta & Martin Wohl. Amethyst Level — Wohl Family Dentistry; Fierst Bloomberg Ohm LLP. Team Sponsors: A2Z Science & Learning Toy Store; Applied Mortgage; Brian Leaf SAT Prep; Broadside Books; Chia Collins & Michael Cohen; Committees to Elect Rachel Maiore, Jeremy Dubs, and Quaverly Rothenberg; Daily Hampshire Gazette; Dale Melcher & Bill Newman; Lesser, Newman, Aleo & Nasser; Lions Club; Mayor Gina-Louise Sciarra Campaign Committee; Northampton Area Pediatrics; Osaka Lunch Club; Ostberg & Associates Financial Services and Insurance; Paradise Copies; River Valley Co-op; Sallie Deans Lake & Kevin Lake; Sharp, Heyman, Dolven, & Elkins; SOS — Support Our Schools; Talk the Talk on WHMP; Tandem Bagel; The Community Classroom; The Dadz; The Law Office of Valerie Vignaux; Thornes Marketplace; UMass Five College Federal Credit Union; Whalen Insurance.

Thank you to Herrell’s, Red Barn Honey, and Cooper’s Corner/State Street Fruit Store for their donations; WHMP and Northampton Open Media for broadcasting the Bee; and everyone who volunteered and competed.

Dale Melcher, president; Martin Wohl, vice president; and Megan Rubiner Zinn, Queen Bee

Northampton Education Foundation