Contestants Quote Scripture and Take Home $260,000 in Prize Money
WASHINGTON, Nov. 16 /
Christian Newswire/ --On November 4-6, 300 contestants gathered in Washington, D.C. for the first annual National Bible Bee, a motivating Bible memory competition for children and youth from 7 to 18 years of age. Nine contestants emerged as contest winners and received the following awards:
Senior Age Group (Ages 15 –18) Prize Money
1st Place Daniel Staddon (Salem, WV) $100,000
2nd Place Truman Falkner (Kansas City, MO) $ 25,000
3rd Place Ellen Lawrence (Madison, AL) $ 15,000
Junior Age Group (Ages 11–14) Prize Money
1st Place Isaac Ward (Castle Creek, NY) $ 50,000
2nd Place Jessica Hofmeister (Warsaw, IL) $ 20,000
3rd Place Sophie Haire (Havre De Grace, MD) $ 10,000
Primary Division Winners: Ages 7–10 Prize Money
1st Place Rebecca Horning (Raytown, MO) $ 25,000
2nd Place Rhonda Grakov (Guilderland, NY) $ 10,000
3rd Place Courtney Minica (San Antonio, TX) $ 5,000
The National Bible Bee is sponsored by the Shelby Kennedy Foundation. Organizers say that the National Bible Bee is much more than a competition – that at its core, it is all about encouraging young people to memorize the Scriptures so that they may learn, speak, and live out their Christian faith.
Local Bible Bee contests were conducted throughout the United States on Saturday, September 12, 2009. One hundred finalists from each of three age categories were invited to advance to the National Bible Bee, a world-class competition that was held in Washington, D.C. at the J.W. Marriott, a block and a half from the White House. In order to win the contest, participants answered Bible knowledge questions and recited memorized scripture passages.
If you would like more information about the National Bible Bee or would like to schedule an interview with Mike Farris, the President of the Shelby Kennedy Foundation, or Mark Rasche, the Foundation’s Executive Director, please call Kit Rasche at (619) 401-0385, or email Kit at
krasche@biblebee.org.
