Did you know that despite being the tenth largest state in terms of area, Wyoming is the least populous of the 50 United States? To most, that’s simply an interesting fact. To Anita Roman, Program and Communications Coordinator for the Wyoming Community Foundation (WYCF), that is also her greatest hurdle in planning the statewide spelling bee every year.
WYCF has been a local spelling bee sponsor since 2011, when a surprising matter triggered the foundation to step up to the challenge.
“We became the unexpected sponsor when we were informed that, if Wyoming did not participate, it would be the first time in decades that all 50 states would not be represented at the Scripps National Spelling Bee,” Roman said. “Though this was a little out of our comfort zone for events, staff and leadership agreed that children’s literacy is absolutely necessary to support.”
As it turns out, the spelling bee fits perfectly with WYCF’s mission to “connect people who care with causes that matter to build a better Wyoming.”
Because of the sparse and widely dispersed population, WYCF allows different areas of the state to customize parameters for advancing to the state bee. In some populous regions, students compete in classroom, school, district and county bees before advancing to the state competition.
On the other end of the spectrum, in the smallest communities, spellers may advance to the state competition after winning just their school bees.
“This event brings community members together and it lets communities know that we care about their children’s success,” Roman said. “We actually have local community boards raise funds and create the event. It is very much community based.”
Even the harsh Wyoming weather can’t keep crowds away.
“No matter how treacherous the roads in March, we always have a great turnout,” Roman said. “This is a very expansive state, meaning some competitors drive eight hours to get to the competition.”