Published: May 30, 2009 09:19 pm         

TRIBUNE-STAR EDITORIAL: Kennyi casts his spell over national audience

Community can be proud of its teenage champion

TERRE HAUTE — A lot has been written and said about Terre Haute’s Kennyi Aouad, a self-described “jovial” teenager who has been on a remarkable journey the past three years as repeat champion of the Tribune-Star Wabash Valley Spelling Bee.

His legacy on both the local and national scene goes far beyond that of an excellent speller who catapulted himself into a tie for fifth place in the National Spelling Bee on Thursday night in Washington, D.C. With a large television audience watching on ABC, Kennyi harnessed his brainpower, personality, charisma and whimsical sense of humor to earn himself a place among the most memorable and well-liked contestants to ever stroll into the spelling bee’s spotlight.

It was clear early on, after Kennyi won his first local spelling bee and traveled to Washington on behalf of the Tribune-Star, that this kid was something special. His televised appearance in the 2007 Scripps National Spelling Bee earned him an impressive 37th place and produced his now-famous “sardoodledom” moment in which he delighted the audience with his uncontrolled giggling after being given that word to spell.

National Spelling Bee officials honored Kennyi this year and showed him great respect by inviting him to address his fellow spellers prior to the start of competition early last week. It was not uncommon this year to catch televised glimpses of Kennyi signing autographs. The cameras obviously loved him and his playful antics.

The television audience was treated to Kennyi’s confident demeanor and good humor during the finals Thursday night when he was interviewed by ABC/ESPN commentator Erin Andrews. Much to Andrews’ surprise and delight, he took the microphone from her hand to answer her opening question.

When Kennyi was finally eliminated, he received a rousing standing ovation from the live audience.

Oh, and did we mention he’s only in the eighth grade?

It’s been a wonderful ride for Kennyi, his family, his schoolmates at both Terre Town Elementary and Otter Creek Middle School, and our community. It certainly has been a privilege for the Tribune-Star to be his sponsor the past three years.

Congratulations to Kennyi for his successful finish in the National Spelling Bee, and we wish him all the best as he closes out his middle school career and advances to high school next year. He’s proven himself to be not only a great speller, but an outstanding representative of the community.

No matter how you spell it, he made us all proud.