OLATHE, Kan. - The Olathe teenager who won the 2009 Scripps National Spelling Bee will be honored Thursday by the Johnson County Board of Commissioners.
The Board will provide Kavya Shivashankar with a Certificate of Special Commendation at its weekly business session.
"We want to congratulate Kavya for prevailing over some of the most challenging words known to humankind to emerge as the 2009 national champion," Annabeth Surbaugh, chairman of the Board, said. "The Johnson County community is very proud of her."
Shivashankar, 13, an eighth grader at California Trail Junior High School in Olathe, became the national spelling champion on May 29. It was her fourth attempt.
The national contest featured 293 competitors. It was the largest field of competitors in the history of the event.
