The banquet hall of a local hotel erupted with laughter as Alachua County Sheriff Sadie Darnell began to spell "oviferous."
"O-V-I-E-R," she stammered. "Wait, can I start over?"
The Partnership for Stronger Families, an Alachua-based nonprofit organization, held the Executive Spelling Bee on Tuesday at the Best Western Gateway Grand hotel. The 24 participants were local celebrities, including Darnell, Mayor Pegeen Hanrahan, Florida Rep. Charles Chestnut and several Partnership for Stronger Families administrators.
Money collected from $65 ticket sales and donations went to the organization to help fund programs for Alachua children in foster care.
"This is a great event," said Jim Stringfellow, the Alachua chair of Partnership for Stronger Families. "We look forward to making it annual."
The competition consisted of eight three-member teams. Hanrahan and her team proved to be strong spellers in their matching black outfits with coral scarves.
"Lackadaisical. L-A-C-K-A-D-A-I-S-I-C-A-L. Lackadaisical," Hanrahan recited correctly. She high-fived her team excitedly.
By the ninth round of the competition, only two teams remained.
Hanrahan led her team against Ester Tibbs, circuit administrator for the Department of Children and Families, and her squad. When asked to spell "zooxanthella," a type of algae, Tibbs strode to the microphone and confidently spelled the word correctly.
Guests shook their heads in disbelief, but Donna Jordan, a client relations specialist for the department, did not seem surprised.
"She's a great boss and a very good speller," Jordan said. "She's so competitive that she's been practicing her spelling."
In the final round of the competition, Tibbs' trio clinched the victory after Hanrahan's team failed to spell "acronychal" correctly.
