First Literacy Changes Lives

 

Theatre 1 at the Revere Hotel Boston Common was filled to almost capacity with 105 spellers and over 150 cheerleaders and First Literacy supporters. The event began with a warm welcome by Jeff Beale, followed by moving remarks from Lana Li, First Literacy’s Administrative Assistant and 2006 scholarship recipient. Lana’s Mom is visiting from China and asked her to thank everyone for supporting her daughter.

Teams from 35 businesses and nonprofits competed.

Eaton Vance won swarm 1; American Stock Transfer Company, which traveled from New York, won swarm 2; WGBH won swarm 3; Team Grub won swarm 4; Houghton Mifflin won swarm 5; and the Boston Business Journal won swarm 6.

After an intense competition, Eaton Vance with team members Suzanne Lambert, Kate Johnson, and Jessica Katz, beat Team Grub to take the trophy. The winning word was “demesne” (pronounced “de-main”) which means the lease and use of one’s own land; the grounds belonging to a mansion or country house. Below are Emcee Josh Binswanger and Judges David Jost and Win Carus prior to the competition.