TRELAWNY resident Lenworth Wright, 63, earlier this month became the first male to win the 2016 National Council for Senior Citizens (NCSC) Spelling Bee championship since its inception in 2004.

The final, held at the St Andrew Parish Church hall, saw Wright topping 13 other finalists after correctly spelling the word “liaise”.

Second place went to Stephanie Taylor of St Thomas, while Sylveena Smith from Clarendon took third.

Seventy-six-year-old Sheila Kerr, who represented St Andrew and placed 12th, was the oldest competitor.

Wright told

JIS News that he was encouraged to enter this year’s competition by a relative, and commenced preparations in July.

He intimated his love for spelling, a passion he has had since childhood. He pointed out that in school, “I was always a top speller.” Wright said, based on this and his preparations, he was confident of winning.

“What I did was to write all the words from A-Z in a book and I completed about three to four books, and after that I was ready,” he said.

Wright said he appreciated the NCSC’s work in keeping its members active and engaged, and urged more men to join the organisation.

Acting NCSC parish organiser for Trelawny, Lloydia Williams, said that based on her interactions with Wright she knew he would have a good result.

“He was very confident. So I did not doubt that he would have done a really good job. I felt that he was ready, and based on what I had seen from the practice matches, he was on par,” she said.

Williams encouraged seniors to remain active after retirement and join the NCSC, as they still have much to contribute to the society.