First Spelling Bee Participants Receive Martha Mason Award

The Martha Mason Award was presented to the first student recipients at the May 8 meeting of the Greater Cleveland County Schools Educational Foundation.

Students receiving the awards were all spelling bee winners at their schools who participated in the Shelby Star Spelling Bee in March. All will receive $100 US Savings Bonds in recognition of their hard work and perseverance.

The Martha Mason Scholar Award was initiated by Yeeva Cheng, a Shelby High ninth-grader who won the Star’s spelling bee for three years as a sixth-, seventh- and eighth-grader at Shelby Middle School. Miss Cheng chose to name the award in Miss Mason’s honor because Miss Mason has not allowed physical limitations to hamper her spirit of learning.

Miss Cheng donated the money she received from The Star to attend the National Spelling Bee in Washington D.C. to the Foundation and then worked to raise additional funds. She wrote letters to Ms. Mason’s friends and spoke to local civic clubs and organizations. More than $12,000 has been raised so far to endow the award.

Miss Cheng, Foundation President Mac Lancaster, Superintendent Bruce Boyles, and Dr. Jack Hunt presented the awards to students at the Foundation meeting. This year’s recipients are as follows: