This weekend will mark Williams’ fourth consecutive appearance in the Canton Repository Regional Final Spelling Bee.
The winner will qualify to participate in the Scripps National Spelling Bee.
Williams, of Tuscarawas Central Catholic Junior High School, won the bee last year, but the COVID-19 crisis scuttled his chance to hop on the stage at the Gaylord National Resort and Convention Center in Oxon Hill, Maryland.
Ohio’s COVID-19 shutdowns in 2020 followed days after the Repository’s Regional Final Bee, which was held March 7, 2020. Gov. Mike DeWine declared a state of emergency on March 9, 2020; and Dr. Amy Acton signed an order prohibiting mass gatherings on March 12, 2020. The state’s schools were closed March 14, 2020.