Is Spelling a Cultural Activity? By. Shiwani Srivastava. Published August 14, 2009. We may earn a commission from links on this page.

John Paola, who won the 50th National Spelling Bee in 1977 with the word “cambist,” a dealer in bills of exchange. “Fortunately for me, it was a phonetic spelling. C-A-M-B-I-S-T,” he said.

Roz Thompson, public affairs specialist for AAA Northeast, will be returning as one of the judges at The Jersey Journal's 61st Annual Hudson County Spelling Bee.