A Bee fact: Nerves for many, nirvana for one

North Idaho’s best spellers will congregate at North Idaho College tomorrow morning and, at 9 sharp, the North Idaho Regional Spelling Bee will begin.

No. 13 is going to be a very lucky number for someone.

This is, after all, the 13th year that NIC and the Coeur d’Alene Press have joined forces to ensure thousands of students across the northern part of the state can compete for the chance to go to Washington, D.C., in May. On that ultimate spelling stage, our victor will go up against the very best spellers from sea to shining sea.

As always, NIC in general and the amazin’ Mindy Patterson specifically do all of the heavy lifting. Your community college devotes countless hours organizing and coordinating with school districts, specific schools, home school and private school organizations and individuals as they try to spell their way to the top of the pyramid. They do a terrific job, and it’s not overstating a thing when we say, without NIC’s outstanding commitment, there would be no North Idaho Spelling Bee.

Our part is much simpler but no less important. The Press pays all the expenses for the winning speller and her or his parent or guardian to not only compete in the national bee, but to soak in the experiences of a lifetime in our nation’s capital. We’re never disappointed if our champion speller doesn’t reach the higher rounds of the national bee. We know it’s the overall experience of nearly a week in Washington that’s priceless.

We also know this program would not continue without you, Press subscribers and advertisers. The annual expense of several thousand dollars comes from the money generated by newspaper subscriptions and advertising purchases. It’s not magic; it’s business. You reading this editorial should take the big bow, because it’s your patronage that ultimately allows us to sponsor this program.

Tomorrow morning, 47 fourth- through eighth-graders will do their very best to win. We commend every single one of them for getting this far, which is no small accomplishment.

Let’s see what Lucky 13 has in store.