Diane with AkzoNobel

Akzonobel Bees Claim Spelling Championship Honors Again in 2017

2017 Champions Crowned at PFCS Adult Spelling Bee Fundraiser

Brewster, NY – Putnam area businesses, organizations and residents came together last Thursday evening to support Putnam Family and Community Services (PFCS) at their 8th Annual Putnam Adult Spelling Bee. Community members from across the county formed 20 teams and vied in a rousing competition for the championship trophy.

State Assemblywoman Sandy Galef kicked off the competition by reading the first round of words. Veteran emcees Bill Hammond of Edward Jones, and local singer-songwriter Cat Guthrie then took over to lead the teams through many rounds of spelling challenges before moving to a single elimination championship round.

In a very tight final round, the AkzoNobel Bees once again claimed the championship by correctly spelling the word “nenuphar,” meaning, “lotus or water lily.” The Putnam Hospital/Health Quest Putnam Pirates and the Putnam Health Department Bees Knees tied for second place honors. Facing very tough competition, PFCS’ own Buzz Kill took home the coveted Most Enthusiastic Team award.

Other teams who donned colorful costumes, capes, hats, and team tee-shirts in the spirit of the event included Mahopac Library, PFCS Board and Staff, Camp Herrlich, Brewster/Carmel Garden Club, Hudson Valley Federal Credit Union, Patterson Library, Putnam County Women’s Bar Association, Danbury Westerners Baseball, Meridian Benefits Consulting, and the McAdam Band family.

Volunteers from Edward Jones, United Way of Westchester & Putnam, the Hudson Valley Federal Credit Union, Tony T Entertainment, Delancey Street Foundation, and the PFCS agency itself partnered to make this popular occasion a great success.

For more information and photos from the event, visit www.pfcsinc.org/events.php.

The funds raised by this event and its generous sponsors, including AkzoNobel, PFCS Board Bees: Burke, Bernstein & Gibson, Putnam Hospital Center/Health Quest, MHA of Putnam, South Putnam Animal Hospital, Meridian Benefits Consulting, O’Connell & Aronowitz, Diane Russo, NCADD, Human Development Services of Westchester, and others, help to support the comprehensive range of services offered by Putnam Family & Community Services, dedicated to bringing hope and healing to people of all ages all across Putnam County and surrounding areas.


About Putnam Family and Community Services, Inc.

Putnam Family and Community Services, Inc. (PFCS) is the only private non-profit agency providing recovery-based mental health and substance use treatment and prevention services in Putnam County, NY. PFCS offers hope and healing to people of all ages through a comprehensive range of services including individual and group counseling, care coordination, family advocacy, parenting education, community outreach, psychiatric rehabilitation, and medication management. PFCS is a member of Coordinated Behavioral Health Services (CBHS), a non-profit 501(3) membership organization of forward-thinking, community behavioral health and disability service providers in the Hudson Valley Region whose shared goal is to promote recovery-oriented and outcome-based services designed to ensure high quality and low costs.