A team of three faculty members from Darlington will join doctors, community leaders, business owners, lawyers, professors, and others to raise money and awareness of child abuse at the 8th Annual Harbor House Adult Spell Off on Feb. 26.
To Bee or Not to Bee, a team led by English Department Chair Beth Wilson, hopes to reclaim the spelling bee championship title that was last won by Darlington in 2013 with the word cassiopeian. Competing alongside Wilson this year are Upper School science teacher Chris Babb and Technology Integration Coordinator Rebekah Kinney.
"Harbor House provides an incredibly important service for children who have been abused, which is the main reason I've participated in the Adult Spell Off for the past seven years," said Wilson. "It's also fun to see other spellers who return year after year, laugh at the costumes and antics, and take on the crazy word lists Harbor House comes up with each year."
To Bee or Not to Be will join more than 10 other teams on the stage of the Historic DeSoto Theatre Feb. 26 to spell their hearts out, and the winner will gain bragging rights to the title of "Rome-Floyd County Spelling Champs." Money raised through ticket sales, sponsorships and an online voting contest will help support the mission of the Rome-based Harbor House. Click here to vote.
Wilson and her teammates have one message for their opponents: "Bee afraid. Bee VERY afraid."
And at least one of their opponents is a Darlington colleague. For the second year in a row, Director of Communications Tannika Wester will head up Team Takin' Care of BEEzness for the Sexual Assault Center of NWGA Board and Friends.
"We are fortunate to have a resource like Harbor House in our community," said Wester. "Unfortunately, most of the issues they deal with are absolutely heartbreaking. I think the Adult Spell Off is a brilliant and fun way to involve more people in the cause while raising both funds and awareness."
Harbor House is an advocacy organization for children, providing a child-friendly environment to help families navigate through child abuse investigation. The center also coordinates programs for at-risk families to stop abuse before it happens and intervenes when necessary to conduct interviews with alleged victims. Support groups are also offered to families that have been affected by child abuse.
The Spell Off has been able to bring to light the plight of children who are the victims of sexual and physical abuse, helping the general public to better understand and acknowledge the existence of these forms of violence in the Rome-Floyd County community and beyond.
Click here for more information about Harbor House, the Northwest Georgia Child Advocacy Center.
The 8th Annual Harbor House Adult Spell Off returns to the Historic DeSoto Theatre on Friday, Feb. 26 at 7 p.m. Tickets are $10 each, and students 18 years old and under get in for free.
