Ford Motor Company Kentucky Derby Festival Spelling Bee Canceled, Spellers Will Be Honored

(UNDATED) – The Ford Motor Company Kentucky Derby Festival Spelling Bee showcases Kentucky and Southern Indiana’s top spellers in a suspenseful competition that leaves only one standing. To advance to this event, students must first win their county competition.

Over the past several weeks, the Kentucky Derby Festival has been planning and rescheduling the events for later in the year.  However, as officials have  closely monitored the developments surrounding COVID-19, it’s with an abundance of caution that they have canceled the Ford Motor Company Spelling Bee.  

“While we will not be able to hold the Spelling Bee event, we still plan to recognize the students across the state for their accomplishment in qualifying for the Kentucky Derby Festival Ford Motor Company Spelling Bee,” said Christopher Martini, Event Manager. “We will be mailing all participants their participant certificates, shirts, and event pins in the coming weeks.:

To help with this process officials are asking that all participants send their shirt size to cmartini@kdf.org to insure they receive the correct size in their package.

Congratulations to our 2020 County Winners!

Meryl Klein

This includes Lawrence County Winner Meryl Klein

  • Anderson County: Willow Bell
  • Barren County: Brighton Lucas
  • Bath County: Heather Ott
  • Bell County: Ethan Reese
  • Bourbon County: Ashton Baer
  • Breckinridge County: Om Patel
  • Butler County: Dalton Hale
  • Carter County: Jennifer Nguyen
  • Casey County: Ben Estes
  • Clark County: Roman Cheney
  • Clay County: Jaxon Hooker
  • Edmonson County: Brayden Johnson
  • Elliott County: Darrell Maxie
  • Floyd, IN County: Ty O’Neal
  • Floyd, KY: Ethan Hall
  • Franklin County: Terrell Clark II
  • Garrard County: Elise Culross
  • Grayson County: Landon Shiarella
  • Greenup County: Peyton Nickel
  • Hardin County: Braydon Scott
  • Harlan County: Sayed Damaa
  • Harrison, IN County: Zaylie Pittman
  • Jackson, IN County: Conner Nichols
  • Jackson, KY County: Hannah Abner
  • Jefferson County: Japjee Dhall
  • Jefferson Archdiocese of Louisville: Sam Legere
  • Jefferson Private/ Home Schools: Gabriella Velinova
  • Jennings County: Jayden Matlock
  • Kenton County: Lillith Reynolds
  • Knott County: Kenna Fitzpatrick
  • Knox County: Samuel Moore
  • Laurel County: Bailee Storm
  • Lawrence, IN County: Meryl Klein
  • Lawrence, KY County: Kendrea Cox
  • Letcher County: Josiah Akemon
  • Lincoln County: Eli Burunett-Pledsants
  • Logan County: Briahna Higgins
  • Lyon County: Chris McCoy
  • Martin County: Rileigh Shannon
  • McCracken County: Ella Chuppe
  • Meade County: Phinn Witkovskie
  • Mercer County: Tharun Ekambaram
  • Metcalfe County: Eli Shaw
  • Monroe County: Abram Strong
  • Nelson County: Elizabeth Johnson
  • Ohio County: Alina Lenzo
  • Perry County: Cameron Holbrook
  • Pike County: Eli Tan
  • Powell County: Skyler Johnson
  • Pulaski County: Jesse Hampton
  • Rockcastle County: Anna Chaliff
  • Rowan County: Felicity McCarty
  • Russell County: Bailey Burke
  • Shelby County: Aaron Allen
  • Simpson County: Crew Mack
  • Spencer County: Ainsley Brakefield
  • Warren County: Ariti Gani
  • Washington County: Alex Taylor