Tomorrow, 58 elementary school students will come together to compete against one another in the annual Utah Valley Spelling Bee. Families, friends and the community are invited to attend and support these students as they compete.

Utah Valley University will host the 2013 Utah Valley Spelling Bee on its campus in the Ragan Theater on March 2, 2013 beginning at 10 a.m. The competition is made up of student qualifiers from third to eighth grade from throughout Utah Valley.

This year’s event is sponsored by Alexander’s and Cedar Fort Publishing with special consideration by Utah Valley University. The event has been sponsored by the Daily Herald newspaper for the past dozen years.

All 58 students will spell their way through each round until only one remains. Thanks to the support of Alexander’s and Cedar Fort Publishing, the winner of the competition will travel with a parent or guardian to Washington, D.C. to compete in the Scripps National Spelling Bee May 28-29, 2013. The national competition will be broadcast live on ESPN.

“We’re strong supporters of education,” said Alexander’s Vice President of Operations, Doyle Mortimer. “When we heard there might not be a Utah Valley Spelling Bee, we volunteered to present the event. After all, spelling is the foundation of our language and as a printer employing a local team of more than 60, we recognize the crucial role spelling plays in everything we do.”

“The written word is still crucial despite the rise of digital tools people use to text or type in abbreviated language,” said Lyle Mortimer, publisher at Cedar Fort Publishing, a Springville company that also employees nearly 60 people. “We didn’t want to see the local spelling bee go away and wanted to lend our support to spelling education and the local community.” He added that since Cedar Fort is a major Utah publisher, teaming up with Alexander’s, a multi-channel print and marketing firm, was a natural fit.

A list of schools participating in the Utah Valley Spelling Bee are available on the Scripps National Spelling Bee website at SpellingBee.com. The results of the 2013 Utah Valley Spelling Bee and additional information will be available at UtahValleySpellingBee.com.