March 22, 2002
ATLANTA – They were just a few words into the 11th round of the best spelling competition in the state bee championship in recent memory. Twenty fantastic contestants had been whittled down to just two. The two left standing after eleven rounds of grueling competition were Trent Kim, a 10-year-old fifth-grader from Oconee County Middle School in Oconee County, and Heather Buzzard, a 13-year-old eighth-grade homeschooler from Peachtree City. After another battle royal for almost another two full rounds, Heather outlasted her challenger and was crowned the winner of the 41st Annual Atlanta Daily World/Georgia Association of Educators State Spelling Bee.
Trent received the word “gymkhana,” which means “a horseback-riding meet featuring games and novelty contests,” but left out the “h.” Heather spelled the word correctly, and was then given the word “sthene,” which means “a meter-kilogram-second absolute unit of force equal to 1,000 newtons or 100 million dynes.” To everyone’s amazement Heather did not hesitate to spell it correctly, and she will now represent Georgia in the Scripps-Howard National Spelling Bee Championships in Washington, D.C., May 26th – May 31st.
When asked how she felt about representing Georgia in the national spelling bee and the prospect of going to Washington D.C., Heather responded as probably most 13-year-olds would and simply replied, "COOL. I’m so nervous and excited because I’ve never been to Washington.”
"The Georgia Association of Educators has been proud to work with the Atlanta Daily World in the development and growth of the Georgia State Spelling Bee over these past 41 years," said GAE president Ralph B. Noble. “I know I speak for all Georgians when I say we wish Heather the best of luck, and that all of Georgia will be with her in spirit as she carries the state’s hopes to the national championships next month."
Alexis Scott, publisher of the Atlanta Daily World added, "These young people, once again, put on an amazing exhibition of skill and determination. I applaud all of them on a job well done."
In addition to her first place trophy (Atlanta Daily World) and an all expense paid trip to the national championships and $1,000 (GAE), Heather also took home a $200 U.S. Savings Bond (Wachovia), a $100 savings bond (Las Amigas-Decatur/DeKalb, a dictionary (Merriam-Webster), a gift certificate (Scripps Howard), and one $100 U.S. Savings Bonds (Samuel L. Sugarman Award).
Trent, as runner-up, took home a second place trophy (Atlanta Daily World), $500 (GAE), a dictionary (Houghton-Mifflin), a $50 savings bond (Las Amigas-Decatur/DeKalb), and one $50 U.S. Savings Bonds (Wachovia).
Order of elimination / Word / Round
Mary Lynn Hayes /Grout / 1
Tiffany Davis / Quorum / 2
Claire Kersey / Enthusiastic / 3
Brandon Brown / Galosh / 3
Christine Amuzie / Collateral / 3
Giselle Dutcher / Courser / 3
Jonathan Parks / Caustic / 6
Brittany Pearl Pierce / Blatherskite / 8
Anna Hagemeyer / Emblazon / 9
Brent Wilkes / Guernsey / 9
Jason Soucy / Tercentenary / 9
Erica Zucco / Croustade / 10
Yang Mou / Glossolalia / 10
Andrew Jones / Allemande / 10
Todd Johnson / Cedilla / 10
Bommy Kim / Thanatology / 10
Peter Fitchner / Lilliputian / 10
Jennifer Ann Barbee / Cincture / 11
Trent Kim / Gymkhana / 13
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