WILKES-BARRE The marathon-long rounds of the Times Leaders annual regional spelling bee may have come to an abrupt end without the help of a few local business owners.

Owners of The Medicine Shoppe locations in Wilkes-Barre and Dallas banded together to help fund the event, which has been a Times Leader tradition for more than three decades.

This years bee, the 34th annual, will be held at 1 p.m. Sunday at The Woodlands Inn & Resort, Route 315, Plains Township. Twenty-one spellers from across Northeastern Pennsylvania will compete locally for a chance to spell on the national stage.

The first-place winner of the bee will receive a trip to Washington, D.C., during the week of Memorial Day, during which he or she will meet other top spellers from across the country, tour the capital and compete in the Scripps National Spelling Bee.

We learned last summer that we wouldnt be able to hold this years bee unless a benefactor stepped forward, and we are so very grateful to The Medicine Shoppe pharmacies in Wilkes-Barre and Dallas for their generous sponsorship, said Times Leader features writer Mary Therese Biebel, who is coordinating the 2017 regional bee with arts and entertainment editor Sarah Haase.

By sending a speller to Washington for the National Bee, the Medicine Shoppe is helping that young scholar have the experience of a lifetime, Biebel said.

Times Leader Media Group Publisher Mike Murray said he is grateful for The Medicine Shoppes support of the bee, which has had a major impact on some past participants lives.

Its a pleasure this year to welcome The Medicine Shoppe as a co-sponsor of the TL Spelling Bee, said Murray. Thanks to their generosity, we are able to continue to build upon a tradition that has been part of the area for over three decades and look forward to its continued success.

Biebel said this years contestants can be inspired by Sukanya Roy, a speller from Abington Heights Middle School who won the regional bee three times and, on her third trip to Washington in 2011, won the national bee.

That was phenomenal, Biebel said.

Gary Karwaski, owner of The Medicine Shoppe in Dallas, said he believes education is key to a successful future a notion that was instilled within him since he was young.

Personally, when I was a child, my parents didnt have a lot of money, he said. My dad went to eighth grade, and I think my mother did too. I always knew how they struggled their whole life, and they would say when I was young, Youre going to college, youre going to college. It was expected. I always instill that into my children. Education helps you, and it makes things a heck of a lot easier.

Karwaski said he was surprised to learn that the bee may not have continued if it hadnt found a sponsor.

I had no idea that was the case, he said. That makes me feel pretty good.

Peg Freeman, owner of The Medicine Shoppe in Wilkes-Barre, has always had trouble spelling, so shes excited to encourage youngsters to start learning the craft.

Im an adult whos 66 years old and has a tough time spelling every day, she said. With our phones, you dont need to spell. Everything is checked for you. (I think) its important to learn how to spell.

Last years winner, Peter Khoudary from Good Shepherd Academy in Kingston, will once again participate in the bee. Khoudary, of Dallas, was eliminated in the third round of the Scripps National Spelling Bee last year with the word niacin.

http://timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/web1_MedSlogobluetag-page-001-1.jpg

Jamison Bessoir, of Abington Heights Middle School, competes in the Times Leader Spelling Bee at The Woodlands Inn & Resort in Plains Township last March.

http://timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/web1_TTL030716SpellingBee3-1.jpgJamison Bessoir, of Abington Heights Middle School, competes in the Times Leader Spelling Bee at The Woodlands Inn & Resort in Plains Township last March. Sean McKeag File Photo | Times Leader

Peter Khoudary, of Good Shepherd Academy, wins the Times Leader Spelling Bee last March.

http://timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/web1_TTL030716SpellingBee4-1.jpgPeter Khoudary, of Good Shepherd Academy, wins the Times Leader Spelling Bee last March. Sean McKeag File Photo | Times Leader

Reach Sarah Hite Hando at 570-704-3945.

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The Medicine Shoppe will sponsor 34th annual Times Leader Spelling Bee - Wilkes Barre Times-Leader