 The Tacoma-Pierce County Chamber was selected by the U.S. Chamber to be a County represented in their annual National Civics Bee. Our Chamber was one of several Chambers within Washington State to be chosen to represent their counites and host National Civics Bee - Local Bee Competitions. The Tacoma-Pierce County Chamber’s Local Bee took place on March 13, 2024, at Pierce College Puyallup. The foyer of the Arts and Allied Health Building was decked out in Americana-themed swag provided by Tacoma Trophy, balloon décor beautifully arranged by The Party’s Here LLC, and of course featured a delicious “Brunch of Champions” spread along with a “Liquid Fuel Station” with some of the well-known morning beverages, sponsored by the City of Tacoma and TAPCO Credit Union, respectively. Within the Arts and Allied Health Building is a spacious theater that was the perfect setting for our Bee. The University of Puget Sound was our Venue sponsor, and we truly did select a wonderful venue for our inaugural Local Civics Bee. Our 15 Local Bee finalists got up on stage with lanyards on (sponsored by the YMCA of Pierce and Kitsap Counties), water bottles at the ready, and tablets in hand to compete in two very challenging quiz rounds. The questions varied in difficulty, and parents could attest to that being that they could play along and test their knowledge. Kierra Phifer, Manager for the Northwest Public Engagement Division at DoorDash, did an excellent job as the emcee, reading each question and answer aloud, and keeping the audience engaged throughout the minor unforeseen technical difficulties. It takes great courage to stand up for things you believe in and write an essay about it (which was how the top 15 were selected to participate in the Local Bee), let alone come onstage in front of a live audience to be quizzed on it! Each middle schooler tried their best and played with great integrity up until the end. Regardless of standings, each student should be proud of themselves for taking the initiative and joining this event. After the first two rounds, we congratulated those who did not place in the top five; however, it was not that easy to get those five students. As crazy as it sounds, a tiebreaker was made to break the tiebreaker round because our students were just too smart and kept answering correctly! After many attempts to tiebreak those two smarties, the final five advanced to the third round. This round was a chance for the students to talk about the essay they wrote, and answer questions given from our three judges: Zach Corriea Government Relations Analyst of MultiCare; Tanisha Jumper, Chief Communications Officer at Tacoma Public Schools-District #10; and Sylvia James, Vice Chancellor of Finance and Administration at The University of Washington-Tacoma. The top five students were eloquent and took their time to give the audience a very thorough summary of their essay. They answered the judges’ questions sincerely, and really did give our judges’ a hard time in tabulating scores. After the judges’ deliberations, the students in fourth and fifth place were given their certificates and a gift of a year-long subscription to the Junior Scholastic Magazine. Thank you to our “Continuing Civics Education Sponsors”: The Rush Companies (gifted two subscriptions); Velvet’s Big Easy; New York Life Insurance Company; and The Kiwanis Club of Tacoma. Recipients of the third and second place trophies (sponsored by Mary Bridge Children’s Hospital), were Troy Smith of Eatonville Middle School (3rd place), and Benjamin Wu of Curtis Junior High School (2nd place). The 2024 Local Civics Bee first place trophy went to Brayden Fieber of Harbor Ridge Middle School! Brayden, congratulations to you and thank you for participating in this year's Local Civics Bee. Having that level of knowledge at such a young age is admirable, and you should be very proud of yourself for dedicating your efforts into Civics Education! At the end of the competition, all students gathered to take celebratory photos in front of the balloon wall, congratulate each other, and fill up on a few more brunch treats before they took off basking in their accomplishments. To make things sweeter - As Tayler Kirby, Events Coordinator for Tacoma-Pierce County Chamber, was gathering the A-Frame directional signs at the end of the event, a bee ended up landing on one of the signs. It was a perfect end to this year's Civics Bee!
What's Next for the Local Bee Finalists
The top three finalists from the Pierce County Local Civics Bee will be off to compete against the other Washington Chamber’s top three finalists at the State Bee held this June. Please join us in wishing these students good luck! Learn more here. Comments are closed.
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