Dixon’s Wadsworth named Scripps National Spelling Bee’s national volunteer of the year

Dixon’s Tom Wadsworth has been selected as this year’s Scripps National Spelling Bee National Volunteer of the Year in recognition of his 43 years as the pronouncer for the Sauk Valley area’s spelling bee.

The award was announced Monday, May 26, during opening ceremonies in Washington.

Wadsworth, 72, first became the pronouncer for the Lee County Spelling Bee in 1983, when he was the morning personality at WSDR radio in Sterling. Over the years, he has declared 43 local champions and sent them to Washington to represent the local bee, which is now the Lee Ogle Whiteside Spelling Bee.

“The impact of a good pronouncer is truly invaluable,” said Corrie Loeffler, executive director of the Scripps National Spelling Bee. “For decades, Tom has given spellers in his region the best chance to shine onstage thanks to his rare combination of passion and skill.”

The local bee, organized by Chris Tennyson and Michele Hopp of the Regional Office of Education 47, is held annually in the Dixon High School auditorium.

Scripps presented two other national awards Monday. Nikki Montana of the Edwin Forrest Elementary School in Philadelphia received the Educator of the Year award, and the Akron Beacon Journal of Akron, Ohio, received the Regional Partner of the Year award. The Scripps National Spelling Bee is celebrating its 100th anniversary this year.

The awards were presented at the Gaylord National Resort & Convention Center near Washington as 243 champion spellers from around the nation gathered to compete for the national champion trophy that will be presented Thursday night.

Parker Zimmerly, 14, of Amboy Junior High, the 2025 champion of the Lee Ogle Whiteside regional bee, was eliminated in the National Bee competition Tuesday. After three rounds of competition, 99 spellers have advanced to the quarterfinals.

Given the word gelilah, Zimmerly spelled it galeila. In Judaism, gelilah refers to the rolling up of the scroll of the law after reading from it in the synagogue.

Zimmerly has been a school champion three times. His mother, Joanie Zimmerly, a second-grade teacher at Amboy Central, is accompanying Parker this week in Washington, Wadsworth said.