St. John’s again hosted the Regional Spelling Bee this year, and has now passed that role on to PNW. 

A student from Union Mills won the Regional Bee on March 19th, and in doing so qualified to participate in the 2026 Scripps National Spelling Bee to be held May 26-28 in Washington D.C. The winner, Hannah Best correctly spelled “hazardous” and “scenario” in the eleventh round of competition to achieve first place. Participating were 20 students from 20 participating area schools. Placing second and third, respectively, were Matthew Vanhook, a student at La Porte Middle School, and Dylan Cooper, a student at Critchfield Elementary, La Porte. St. John’s own Luke Mobley, who won the St. John’s Spelling Bee, did well and came in fifth place.

The Spelling Bee is a 50-year tradition in La Porte County and now includes additional participation from schools in Porter County. This year’s event was coordinated and sponsored by St. John’s Lutheran Church and School, due to their willingness to step-up last year and ensure there was an in-person Bee, rather than a virtual option only for this region. Additional sponsors this year were Purdue University Northwest, the Unity Foundation of La Porte, and the Porter County Foundation. Next year Purdue University Northwest will take over the planning and executing of this Bee, for St. John’s and this region.

Marking its 101st year, the Scripps National Spelling Bee is the nation’s largest and longest running educational program. By inspiring exploration of words, the Bee seeks to illuminate pathways to lifelong curiosity, celebrate academic achievement and enrich communities. The Spelling Bee competition is open to students under age 16 and attending eighth grade or lower. Last year 243 young spellers participated in the national event.

Thank you to all who worked to make this year’s Bee such a great success: Dr. Scott Simerlein, himself a 1983 Bee Champion, served as pronouncer for the Bee. He is an associate professor of science at Ivy Tech Community College in Michigan City. Two Purdue University Northwest staff serving as judges were Dr. Liz Depew, Vice Chancellor for Enrollment and Student Affairs and Raven Chant, Assistant Director of Admissions. Pastor Albers coordinated and emceed the Bee, and Deaconess Michele Doel served as recorder. St. John’s teacher and SJLS Bee coordinator Laura Kroemer, as well as volunteers Roland Lovstad and Dionne Lovstad-Jones, helped to make the event run smoothly as well. Again, thank you to all who assisted with the Regional Bee!