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The ACES Education Fund Annual Fundraiser: The place to bee on April 21

The ACES Education Fund Annual Fundraiser: The place to bee on April 21

April 19, 2021 By Rachel Slay and Savanna Perry ACES News

A spelling bee is the perfect competitive experience for a conference brimming with language aficionados.

At least that’s what Henry Fuhrmann, ACES Education Fund Board president, thought.

“It became clear that the spelling bee would be right within our members' wheelhouses,” he said. “We’re professional spellers, basically, as editors.”

The event, sponsored by Lingofy, will raise money for the ACES Education Fund, an affiliate of ACES: The Society For Editing. 

Attendee registration for the ACES Education Fund Eighth Annual Spelling Bee is open and filling up with each passing day. For a minimum donation of $15, anyone can get a virtual ringside seat to the event.

“I see it as investing in the future,” Fuhrmann said. “The spelling bee is a fun way to ask people to give just a little bit at a time to this larger cause.”

Peter Sokolowski, lexicographer at Merriam-Webster, will sit at the helm of the contest as host and moderator. Among the three judges is Beth Chapple, the 2019 ACES Spelling Bee Champion. 

This year’s contestants are six celebrity spellers that include Steve Bien-Aimé, assistant journalism professor at Northern Kentucky University, Ellen Jovin, creator of Grammar Table, and more. 

The contestants will entertain viewers while raising money for the education fund. Audience members will watch seasoned professionals flip, and eventually stumble, through internal lexicons. People will surely walk away reminded of the impact that a single misplaced letter can have on a world. Ummm... word. 

Additionally, four prizes are available for audience members to win: two pairs of Apple AirPod Pros and two Apple Watches; all provided by Lingofy. The winner of the spelling bee will get a virtual cocktail or mocktail hour with lexicographer, editor and author Jesse Sheidlower. 

To follow social distancing guidelines, this year’s conference has shifted to an online format. In accordance with such measures, the bee will be virtual also and is set to stream on April 21 from 4 p.m. to 5 p.m. EDT.

"The fund, which has distributed more than 100 scholarships since 1999, will continue to offer scholarships this year," Fuhrmann said. The scholarship application is open and available through Nov. 15. 

Each year, the fund distributes six scholarships to college juniors, seniors and graduate students to help them on their paths to editing careers. 

Scholarships award a fixed dollar amount along with free registration and financial aid for the ACES conference. The Bill Walsh and ACES Aubespin scholarships award one student $3,500 and $2,500, respectively. Four additional students are awarded $1,500 each. 

These efforts inspire and help students achieve their editorial dreams. Sara Ziegler, ACES president, embodies a striking example, as she won a scholarship in the 2001-2002 school year. 

Beyond scholarships, the fund created the Richard S. Holden Diversity Fellowship pilot program alongside the Dow Jones News Fund to support early- and mid-career editors in their professional advancement. 

Direct donations to the ACES Education Fund can be made on the scholarship fund website and fellowship program fund website. 

In previous years, ACES hosted a variety of in-person events, including a silent auction and the spelling bee, to support the scholarships. There will be no silent auction with the 2021 conference offered fully online. 

Those interested in attending the spelling bee can make their minimum $15 donation to secure their seat on the ACES website. The contest will cap at 1,000 attendees. 

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