Margie Boule yields her crown

Tonight at the Fifth Annual Celebrity Spelling Bee of Schoolhouse Supplies, Margie Boule (a two-time winner) of the Oregonian finished a close second, yielding her title as spelling champ to Nicole Vogel, publisher of Portland Monthly.  "Isosceles" was her downfall, and "diaphanous" (not a word usually associated with January clothing for Portlanders) gave Ms. Vogel the crown.

The celebrity contestants included two more members of the print media, Don Hamilton of the Tribune and Jonathan Nicholas of the Oregonian, and two broadcasters, Tony Martinez of KPTV and Pat Boyle from KPAM.  When one of the broadcasters asked the judges if phonetic spellings would be accepted, Mrs. Laquedem commented that the print media people would no doubt outperform the broadcast people.  And she was right: Messrs. Martinez and Boyle hit the ground early in the bee.

Mayor Potter was one of the other good-sport contestants, and Commissioner Adams was one of the two judges (the other was Rob Smith of the Business Journal), leading to a burst of laughter when, after being given a word he found challenging, the mayor intoned, "Commissioner Adams, what bureaus would you like?"

The crowd filled the Melody Ballroom, and the silent auction was a success for the organization and its new executive director, Nick Viele.  Schoolhouse Supplies' mission is to collect supplies for the public schools and then to distribute them to teachers and classrooms.  It has a simple and effective distribution method:  a teacher who needs supplies goes to the warehouse, selects what he or she wants, and takes the goods back to the classroom -- all free.  Mr. Viele said that a $6,000 cash gift can be stretched to buy $30,000 of supplies, good value for the dollar.  And the spelling bee was great fun -- I secretly wished that I was one of the contestants, until the MC called the words "furfuraceous" and "oppugn."  Look for the sixth annual Bee this time next year.

Comments

[NASCAR Girl]

I agree -- the Bee was a smashing success this year. Credit Nick Viele with the muscle and charm to convince the media to get out the word, creating a standing room only event. Add Nick to the list of Portland's most effective non-profit directors, a list headed by the incomparable Dee Walsh of REACH Community Development.

Well done, Nick!

[Randy Leonard]

Tom Potter and Sam Adams have dramatically improved the atmosphere at city hall.

Your comment about their participation in this event is reflective of the improved environment both of them have helped create on the council.

[The One True b!X]

Tom Potter and Sam Adams have dramatically improved the atmosphere at city hall.

Council sessions are certainly funnier these days. Maybe it's just the honeymoon period, but I don't think I've ever seen a Council quite this relaxed and humorous.

[The One True b!X]

Oops, used HTML in that and it didn't take. Obviously, that first 'graph was a quote.