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To bee or not to bee? Law firm says Y-E-S

By SARAH LEMAGIE, Star Tribune

Last update: December 21, 2007 - 10:35 PM

Days after word hit the street that the regional qualifying event for the Scripps National Spelling Bee could be canceled for lack of a sponsor, a Minneapolis law firm has stepped to the podium.

Lockridge Grindal Nauen will organize the 2008 regional bee, firm partner Ted Grindal said Friday. "It would sort of be sad for it not to continue in the metropolitan area, so we're thrilled to get a chance to do that," he said.

The Star Tribune, which had sponsored the bee since 2004, backed out this summer because Scripps started charging schools a $99 participation fee, of which $15 goes to the sponsor, said Pat Adkins, a spokesperson for the newspaper.

"We weren't comfortable raising money from schools that way, because we feel that schools are pinched for cash as it is," she said.

The newspaper also worried that the $99 fee would prevent some schools from participating, said Tom Rainey, director of partnership marketing at the Star Tribune. "We weren't comfortable sponsoring something that was not going to be all-inclusive, as it had been in previous years," he said.

Partners at the law firm learned of the need for a sponsor this week and deemed it a good fit for them, Grindal said. The firm funds similar causes in the Twin Cities, including the Urban Debate League. The firm also hopes to draw positive attention from lawmakers to its Washington office, where it does lobbying work for clients -- and where the national bee will be held on May 28-29.

The firm will pay an up-front sponsorship fee of $900, as well as the costs of organizing the regional bee and sending the winning student and an adult to Washington, said Melenie Soucheray, the firm's marketing director. The firm anticipates that total sponsorship costs won't exceed $15,000, she said.

Qualifying students from Anoka, Hennepin, Dakota, Ramsey, Scott and Washington counties and most of Carver County can compete in the bee, which will likely be held March 13.

Sarah Lemagie • 612-673-7557