Knowing how to spell is i-m-p-o-r-t-a-n-t and the Learn-to-Read Council of Athens & Limestone County is asking local organizations to lend a helping hand.

The 22nd annual Corporate Spelling Bee is fast approaching, but sponsors and teams are still in short supply, council director Rhonda Andrews told The News Courier. There’s still time to sign up or sponsor a team.

The spelling bee is the Learn-to-Read Council’s only major fundraiser of the year, Andrews said, with proceeds benefitting the programs and services they offer, such as after-school tutoring, basic literacy lessons and courses in English as a second language.

“We’ve been very fortunate (with grants), but there’s always a little bit of money left that we need,” she said.

The bee inspires friendly competition among school, church, business and civic organizations to see who has the best spelling skills. A team of three is given a word, its definition and an example sentence. Then they are given a short time to confer before the team’s designated speaker takes a whack at spelling the word for the judges. The two teams left at the end must battle it out for first and second place, but both receive plaques.

To form a team, an organization or individual must file the registration paperwork and pay the $300 entry fee. Then either the sponsor can provide the spellers or the council will provide contestants for the sponsor’s table.

This year’s competition is scheduled to begin at 10 a.m. Saturday, March 4, in the Athens High School cafeteria. Athens Mayor Ronnie Marks is slated to be one of the judges, Andrews said, with other scholars filling the remaining judge positions.

Even those who can’t compete are encouraged to come by and cheer for their favorite team.

“We’d just love for everybody to come out and enjoy the morning,” Andrews said

For registration or other information, contact the Learn-to-Read Council at 256-230-3050. The office, at 110 Thomas St., Suite 115-S in downtown Athens, is open 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday. The soft deadline for entries is Sunday, Feb. 19.