Posts Tagged ‘Spelling bee’

“In the great tradition of the Spelling Bee, there was an amazing group of people, lots of laughter along with some great spelling that came together for a special evening!”
– Executive Director, Kirsten Levinsohn

The staff was thrilled to see all our families and friends log in at once and start chatting with each other and wave to familiar faces over zoom! Participants logged in from across the country and this is exactly what makes the virtual event so special!

It was so wonderful to see all our participants creative costumes, cool backgrounds, adorable pets, and neat Kahoot names pop up on our screens. As the night progressed, we had about 100 people join the Bee and 64 Kahoot players logged in. Some were individual players, others were family groups, and three families logged into zoom from their driveway and projected the event on a screen by a camp fire! They had to be both precise and speedy as they looked through four spelling variations of each word for the correct answer. We had winners from each round as well as overall winners!

Thanks to our Emcee, Ray Andrewsen, the night was filled with fun jokes and encouragement as the players strived for the top scores. Our Word Pronouncer, Shana Schneider did an excellent job at saying even the toughest words and made the night come to life with her cheerful voice and creative headbands! Thanks to all our supporters, we raised $17,570 in total!

We are so thankful to our Sponsors for supporting our programs through this event!

2021 Gold Sponsors:

CAZBEE Fund

2021 Silver Sponsors:

William Reese Company

UBS

Suzio-York Hill

The Russell Hall Company, Inc.

Claire’s Corner Copia

Yale Center for British Art

2021 Bronze Sponsors:

Carol Bailey and Laurie Desmet

Nappo Wealth Advisory Group

Yale University Office of New Haven and State Affairs

Writers Desk

Yale New Haven Hospital

Jacobs & Jacobs Injury Lawyers

Click to watch our “Bee Retrospective” and discover the total raised to fund literacy programs in 10 years of the Bee!


We are excited to announce our 2021 Emcee and Word Pronouncer! For our 10th NHR Spelling Bee we have our host Ray Andrewsen of The Greater New Haven and Quinnipiac Chamber of Commerce and Word Announcer Shana Schneider of Fitstyle by Shana.  

For event info and registration about our Spelling Bee, click here!

Ray Andrewsen is the Executive Director of the Quinnipiac Chamber of Commerce and formerly Director of Membership Services for the Greater New Haven Chamber of Commerce engaged in business development, partnerships benefits satisfaction, and community outreach. Previously he had been the General Manager and local morning radio voice on Quinnipiac University’s WQUN in Hamden for over 22 years. Ray has interviewed thousands of local and national guests. Under his direction WQUN served over 400 local advertisers, community and government organizations, religious and educational institutions, and non-profit groups every year. It was voted the New Haven area’s Best Radio Station as recently as the 2018 CTNow reader’s poll.

Ray has extensive civic experience having served on the board of directors of the Connecticut Broadcasters Association, Hamden Regional Chamber of Commerce, Christian Community Action, Interfaith Volunteer Caregivers, Schooner Inc, and he is a past PTA president of Ridge Hill elementary school in Hamden. Ray is currently the president of the advisory board of the Salvation Army of New Haven, serves on the board of Clifford Beers Clinic, operations committee of the Ulbrich Boys and Girls Club, member of the New Haven Rotary, and panelist on the Hamden Juvenile Review Board. Ray received the Hamden Citizen of the Year Award from the Hamden Elks, Notable Citizen of the Year Award from the Hamden Chamber of Commerce, Community Impact Award from the Quinnipiac Chamber of Commerce, and the Arnold Dean Award for Connecticut Broadcasting from the Franciscan Life Center in 2019. He has been a regular presence around the area having served as a moderator, interviewer, and emcee at numerous local events.

 

Shana is the founder of Fitstyle by Shana and the creator of the FITS.T.Y.L.E. Your Life™  approach to fitness, which helps you find time for fitness in your everyday life. As a workshop + class leader, fitness educator and author, Shana has been featured in national magazines, websites and fitness blogs and is seen regularly on WTNH News 8. Prior to working on Fitstyle by Shana full time, she worked for over a decade holding several leadership positions at Yale University. She is an AFAA certified group fitness instructor and personal trainer and is licensed to teach Zumba Fitness. Shana serves as the VP of the Board of Directors for the New Haven Free Public Library, holds a B.A. from Yale University and is known for doing leg lifts in line at Starbucks.