Hi everyone!
I have some exciting news — My daughter Meredith Trussell has qualified to compete in the Scripps National Spelling Bee in Washington, D.C.! This is an amazing opportunity for her, and I’m so proud to support her and her big dreams!
We're currently working on raising funds to help cover travel, lodging, and competition expenses for the trip. Meredith wants her parents with her for this, and we're going to make it happen. If you’re able and willing to support Meredith, any amount would mean so much and help her represent our community on a national stage.
If you can’t contribute financially, your encouragement and support still mean the world to our family! Meredith is so grateful for such a supportive and loving community. We have read her every single word of encouragement since the beginning of this road to Washington, and it's bolstered her confidence over and over. We're constantly in awe of the number of people in our lives who are cheering her on! THANK YOU!
Below is a note from Meredith to all of you, giving a little insight into this endeavor and what it means to her:
Hey y'all - Meredith here.
I can't believe it - I'm going to the National Spelling Bee!
This has been such an adventure. I want to tell you some of my story. What started as just a fun idea a few years ago has become a really big growth opportunity for me in the last few years. In the 6th grade, I got second place in my school spelling bee and qualified for the county bee. There I got second place and qualified for the vocabulary round, which narrowed the field to the top 25 spellers. I made it to the state bee in 6th grade and had such a great time doing something new and fun for me, finishing in 9th place.
The next year, I moved to the middle school and we didn't have anyone in our school who wanted to sponsor a spelling bee, so I didn't have the chance to try again. I knew I couldn't let that happen again in my last eligible year, so at the beginning of the 8th grade school year, I started petitioning teachers and administration (mostly by asking so many times I knew someone would eventually give in) to bring back the bee to Petal Middle School. My awesome ELA teacher, Mrs. Cooley, agreed to do it and took the time to learn all the rules and the guidelines for setting it up and I ended up winning the school bee! I went to the county bee and won that one as well, and after another tough vocabulary test, made it to the top 25 and had another chance to attend the state spelling bee. I didn't even imagine making it to D.C. when I showed up to prepare for the state bee.
It's been such a wild ride since then and I'm reading and spelling more words each day than I ever expected to be at this point in my life. I'm so thankful for every one of you all who have cheered me on, given me hugs, sent texts to me or my parents, and shared my story on social media. I'm asking once more for your support so I can spend a week in D.C. on one of my greatest adventures yet!
Thank you all so much for being part of my journey!
Meredith