SALEM - Columbiana County will hold its 51st spelling bee at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, but for pronouncer Dr. Kristen Figg, this year will be the last.
She's shelving her dictionary and word lists for retirement, from both the bee she's served since 2004 and the Kent State University Salem campus where she's taught as a professor of English since 1989.
For now, though, she's scanning her list and checking it twice, keeping the good words, throwing out the bad, and reading the words, their definitions and accompanying sentences aloud in preparation for the bee, a event close to her heart since childhood.
"It's kind of a natural interest for me because one of my research areas is history of language," Figg said. "I just love words."
Besides focusing on English, she's also taught French and has training in German, Italian and Latin. She compiles the word list using two books from the Scripps National Spelling Bee and the student practice books.
"We're permitted to make decisions on what words we're going to use and in what order," she explained.
She'll take a word out if it's something the students here wouldn't be familiar with, such as some words with Japanese or Hawaiian origin which would be more familiar to students on the west coast. She tries to keep the list fair. She described the job of pronouncer as crucial for the spellers.
"I think a good pronouncer works hard to create a good list so the good spellers don't go out early on difficult words that other students aren't getting," she said.
During the bee, when she pronounces a word, the speller usually says the word before trying to spell it. Figg said she finds herself listening carefully to what the student is saying so she can tell if they recognize the word.
"I want to make sure if they're going out that it's because they don't know how to spell the word, not because of my pronunciation or a bad list," she said. "A good speller should be able to work out the spelling of a word that he or she doesn't know."
She suggested the spellers study the practice book because it contains words that would be unfamiliar to them. They also need to think about how a word can take different forms. By being familiar with some simple words for various origins, they can start recognizing patterns. Students who read a lot have seen a lot of words and the image of the word may come back to them.
Her favorite part of the bee is watching the reactions of the students when they hear their word - some of them are funny. Some of the expressions reveal confidence and others surprise.
"I really try not to torture them," she said.
Figg knows what the spellers go through from her own experience and the experience of her daughter. They're both former spelling champions who represented their schools in the county contest, but neither one of them made it to the national bee.
She even remembers what words tripped them up. For Figg, it was "loathsome." For her daughter, who finished in the top three two years in a row, one of the words was "jambalaya."
In Figg's case, knowing the root word led to her spelling demise because she spelled it "loathesome."
She didn't have a least favorite part of the bee, but added "I'm always sorry to see a student who's really upset about going out."
She takes the job seriously because she said if students are going to put an effort into preparing, then she should take it seriously.
"They train the way an athlete trains," she said.
The spelling bee has become more popular in recent years since it's being televised during primetime, and there's been a movie made based on the bee. Figg said it's a good opportunity for students to learn how to be on a stage and help them overcome a fear of public speaking. It's also a good opportunity for parents to spend quality time with their children helping them prepare.
She didn't rule out acting as a pronouncer again if asked. She missed 2005 because she was out of the country. She's also been the pronouncer for the Salem City bee since 2004. Her teaching career began as a grad student at the University of Akron, then at the KSU main campus in Kent and then the Salem campus.
She and her husband, John Friedman, a retired English professor from the University of Illinois, are moving to Columbus. They'll be working together on the translation commentary for a Medieval French travel book manuscript. They're both medievalists - she studies the 14th century and he studies the 14th and 15th centuries. Their son is a doctor in Columbus and their daughter is a freelance writer who's also a small market organic farmer.
Figg spoke highly of the county organizers for the bee from the Educational Service Center, saying they've been great to work with over the years. They've already started searching for her replacement. She said the person should have a good voice, should like the students and want to help them do well and should possess expertise with words.
Spelling Bee coordinator Judy Herron of the ESC said Figg has been a "top-notch pronouncer." She noted that she's good with words, recognizing her English and French background. She agreed that Figg's replacement will need to be someone who understands the language and origins enough to know which words will be good for the bee.
Co-sponsored again by the ESC, the Salem News, Morning Journal and Review, this year's bee will take place at Lisbon David Anderson High School and involve 58 students from grades 5 though 8. No home-schooled students will take part this year because the rules require participation in a bee involving several students in order to qualify for the county bee.
The winner will represent the county in the Scripps National Spelling Bee in Washington, D.C., just like last year's champion, Lisbon student Mitchel Kessler. This year's event will be held June 2-4.
Besides winning a free trip to D.C. with a chaperone, the champion will receive a trophy, a Samuel Louis Sugarman Award Certificate for a $100 savings bond, Webster's Third New International Dictionary and a one-year subscription to Encyclopedia Britannica Online.
The second place winner will receive a trophy, a Merriam-Webster Collegiate Dictionary, a one-year subscription to Encyclopedia Britannica Online and a $20 Amazon.com gift card.
The third place winner will receive a trophy, a one-year subscription to Encyclopedia Britannica Online and a $20 Amazon.com gift card.
The Ohio Lottery paid the entrance and materials fees for Ohio schools participating in the national bee.
