STUDENTS:
ST. PAUL LUTHERAN SCHOOL
Hope Brammer • Fifth grade
Parents: Renee and Steve Brammer
Personal achievements/interests: School musicals, basketball, Battle of the Bands, high honor roll, Sunday school and vacation bible school, Kankakee Valley Theatre Association, Bradley Bourbonnais Theatre Education project
Goal: To become a child life specialist and a teacher
Winning word: Trembling
ST. ANNE GRADE SCHOOL
Kaitlin Brown • Eighth grade
Parents: Heather Winn and Kevin Brown
Personal achievements/interests: Scholastic bowl, theater club, math team, basketball, speech team, band, drawing, reading
Goal: Be an actress or work on Broadway
Winning word: None listed
BISHOP McNAMARA CATHOLIC SCHOOL (BOURBONNAIS SITE)
Liv Contreras • Sixth grade
Parents: Laura and Jorge Contreras
Personal achievements/interests: Spelling bee, speech contest, math team, volleyball, cross country, piano, guitar
Goal: To be a doctor
Winning word: Concierge
MONTESSORI FINE ARTS MAGNET SCHOOL
Hailey Gerberding • Fifth grade
Parents: Tara Moody and Ryan Gerberding
Personal achievements/interests: Soccer, violin, Montessori Award, art, piano, swimming and traveling
Goal: Continue my education and become a teacher
Winning word: Disturbance
BOURBONNAIS UPPER GRADE CENTER
Davis Jones • Eighth grade
Parents: Wendi and Sheldon Jones
Personal achievements/interests: Youth group, soccer, video games, reading and online shopping
Goal: Engineer
Winning word: Visite
GLENN RAYMOND MIDDLE SCHOOL
Jamyla Jones • Eighth grade
Parent: Brittany Payne
Personal achievements/interests: WGFA spelling bee contestant fifth and sixth grades, "A'' student, science
Goal: Travel the world after college
Winning word: None listed
LIMESTONE MIDDLE SCHOOL
Ty Kelley • Seventh grade
Parents: Kelly and Ryan Kelley
Personal achievements/interests: Trying to start chess club, media team, technology, drawing, coding
Goal: Become a software developer
Winning word: Verandas
KANKAKEE JUNIOR HIGH SCHOOL
Zion Eugene Lee • Seventh grade
Parents: RaVonne and Darek Lee
Personal achievements/interests: Member of Junior Brookmont Bowling League, playing video games
Goal: Marine biology
Winning word: Louisiana
BRADLEY CENTRAL MIDDLE SCHOOL
Quinn Meadows • Seventh grade
Parent: Angel Meadows
Personal achievements/interests: 2019 I-Kan Regional Spelling Bee winner, 2019 Scripps National Spelling Bee participant, student council, math team, Scholastic Bowl, French horn, speech team, KVTA productions, baseball, soccer, indoor football
Goal: To become a physician
Winning word: Cahoots
ST. GEORGE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL
Madeline Miller • Seventh grade
Parents: Jeanna and Eric Miller
Personal achievements/interests: Altar server at St. Patrick’s Catholic Church in Momence, Bradley-Bourbonnais Swim Club, St. George Elementary cross country and basketball, piano recitals, drawing, writing
Goal: To become a psychiatrist
Winning word: Contaminated
BISHOP McNAMARA CATHOLIC SCHOOL (Kankakee site)
Camden Norfleet • Eighth grade
Parents: Vanessa and Mike Norfleet
Personal achievements/interests: KVTA productions, IBA contest, Judges' Choice Speech Award, honor roll, First Church of the Nazarene food pantry volunteer, volleyball
Goal: Go to college and pursue a career as an accountant
Winning word: Mediterranean
BISHOP McNAMARA CATHOLIC SCHOOL (BOURBONNAIS SITE)
Diego Perez • Sixth grade
Parents: Maria and Francisco Perez
Personal achievements/interests: Altar server during school Masses, Harvest Sunday participant, soccer, calling and texting friends
Goal: Study medicine and be successful
MILFORD GRADE SCHOOL
Hallie Scott • Seventh grade
Parents: Marta and James Scott
Personal achievements/interests: WGFA Spelling Bee, volleyball, softball, reading
Goal: Undecided
Winning word: Professional
KING MIDDLE SCHOOL
Benjamin Smith • Sixth grade
Parents: Stacy Walwer and Benjamin Smith
Personal achievements/interests: Won math bee, second place in chess, chess club, art club, orchestra, viola, read 1 million words this year
Goal: To be a doctor
Winning word: Scattering
GRACE CHRISTIAN ACADEMY
Chase Stein • Eighth grade
Parents: Beth Stein-Walters and Shea Walters
Personal achievements/interests: Baseball, soccer, basketball, golf, band – trombone (ONU Music Fest), choir
Goal:Play in the MLB
Winning word: Withers
MANTENO MIDDLE SCHOOL
Aiden Stueck • Eighth grade
Parents: Melanie Senerchia and Alex Pod
Personal achievements/interests: Band, jazz band, Kankakee Valley Youth Symphony Orchestra, Manteno Middle School chess club, golf, camping, swimming
Goal: To become a pilot
Winning word: None listed
KENNEDY MIDDLE SCHOOL
Dominic White • Sixth grade
Parents: Brenae Townsend and Nathan White
Personal achievements/interests: Percussion in school band, school basketball team, Eastside Bulldogs football
Goal: To become a scientist or play professional sports
Winning word: Opportunity
LORENZO R. SMITH ACADEMY
Damion Wynne • Sixth grade
Parents: Tashona Randle and Demetrius Wynne Sr.
Personal achievements/interests: School, church, community, honor roll, Fortnite, reading, playing soccer, drawing
Goal: To become a police officer
Winning word: Agricultural
BEE PRONOUNCER:
Will Rezba retired from teaching speech and English at Herscher High School where he also coached the speech team and directed the class plays for 34 years. He was also an adjunct professor of public speaking at Kankakee Community College. Rezba holds a bachelor's degree in speech and drama from McKendree College and a master's degree in English education from Olivet Nazarene University. He resides in Herscher with his wife, Tricia. He is looking forward to his 19th year of serving as pronouncer of the I-Kan Spelling Bee.
JUDGES:
JACKIE HAAS has serving as a social worker for three decades, focused on helping under-served populations, and advocating for those who cannot speak for themselves. Since 2000, Haas has served as the president and chief executive officer of the Helen Wheeler Center for Community Mental Health – an outpatient, not-for-profit community-based behavior health center in Kankakee. She has been a Licensed Clinical Social Worker since 1992. Haas is also a certified instructor of Mental Health First Aid. She currently represents the 27th District on the Kankakee County Board and recently announced her candidacy for state representative after current Rep. Lindsay Parkhurst announced her retirement. Haas received her bachelor's degree in social work from Valparaiso University, as well as her master’s degree in social work with a specialization in mental health from the University of Illinois Chicago, Jane Addams School of Social Work. Jackie resides in Bourbonnais with her husband, Bill, of 27 years. They have two children, Nicole and Ben.
PATTY HIGH is the Professional Development Administrator for the I-KAN Regional Office of Education. She obtained her Bachelor of Arts in special education at Eastern Illinois University and received her Master of Arts in Educational Leadership from Olivet Nazarene University. This is High’s 17th year in education. She was previously a special education teacher at Mannheim Middle School, Bradley-Bourbonnais Community High School, and Herscher High School. High’s position as the Professional Development Administrator for I-KAN Regional Office of Education allows her to provide professional learning opportunities to educators and schools districts in both Iroquois and Kankakee Counties. High and her husband, Alan, who is also in education, and their two children reside in Herscher.
FRANK PETKUNAS is assistant regional superintendent of Iroquois-Kankakee County schools. He has spent the last 18 years working in education. He began his teaching career at Peotone High School in 2000 as a biology and physical science teacher. In 2002, he joined the faculty at Bradley-Bourbonnais Community High School as a science teacher. In 2007, Petkunas became the science department chair at BBCHS. In July 2012, Petkunas accepted the position of assistant regional superintendent of schools for I-KAN. In this capacity, he provides support to school districts and educators in Kankakee and Iroquois Counties through the programs and services provided by the regional office of education. Petkunas and his wife, Sonya, have three grown sons. The couple currently resides in Limestone and have lived in the Kankakee area their entire lives.