Celebrity Spelling Bee Benefits School House Supplies

Portland, February 11th, 2016. Dave Hellfrey (aka Baron Von Goolo the Mayor of Frighttown) took the top honors at the Celebrity Spelling Bee. One of the sponsors, OnPoint Community Credit Union, thanked supporters for raising over $160K for Schoolhouse Supplies. Howard Jay Patterson of the Flying Karamozov Brothers came in second. Baron Von Goolo won with a correct spelling of saithe and trilobite. Ten local celebrities threw their hats in the ring to support Schoolhouse Supplies.

Schoolhouse Supplies provides supplies for kids in need. Here’s a video about the nonprofit’s work.

Here’s a list of participants:

Judges: Drew Carney – TV Personality, KGW Newschannel 8, Zia McCabe – Dandy Warhols, Two-Time Bee Champion.

Celebrity Spellers 2016:

John Erickson, Former Champion – On-Air Personality K103fm

April Baer – Host, OPB’s State of Wonder

Cameron Whitten – Social Justice Activist, Executive Director of Know Your City

Larry Wilder – Musician and National Yodeling Champion

Ellen Jackson – Chef and Cookbook Author

Niel DePonte – Oregon Symphony Percussionist and Oregon Ballet Theater Conductor

Darius Pierce – Actor, Grimm, Portlandia and more

Baron Von Goolo – Mayor of Scare, Frighttown

Cassidy Quinn – TV Personality, KGW Newschannel 8

Howard Jay Patterson – Flying Karamazov Brothers

Here’s a humorous interview conducted by Schoolhouse mascot “Pencil Pete” with Entertainer Dave Hellfrey (aka Baron Von Goolo the Mayor of Frighttown.)

Baron Von Goolo’s past is murky, to be sure. What can be dredged up about him is…well, it’s hard to tell the fact from the fiction. While his origins are likely to remain a mystery (much like the whereabouts of his mayoral-race competitors from all past Frighttown election cycles), we did get this enigmatic aristocrat to divulge a few secrets about his youth, education and Celebrity Speller status in a recent interview:

Pencil Pete: Who was your most influential teacher and why?
BVG: Dr. Frankensss…uh, sense. Dr. Frankensense. It was Sunday school.

Pencil Pete: In the yearbook, what were you or would you have been voted “most likely to___?”
BVG: Most Likely To Be Chased By Angry Villagers With Torches

Pencil Pete: Did you ever spend any time in the principal’s office? If so, why?
BVG: I have five witnesses saying I was nowhere near the principal that day and besides, the police have no proof. Next question, please.

Pencil Pete: What is/was your favorite school supply?
BVG: Chainsaw. (It was graduate school.)

Pencil Pete: Why did you decide to participate in the Schoolhouse Supplies Celebrity Spelling Bee?
BVG: I assume it’s counting towards my community service.

Pencil Pete: Time for some friendly trash talk. Do you know any of your competitors? Tell us something about a member of the panel that s/he won’t tell us themselves.
BVG: Last Halloween when Cassidy Quinn interviewed me at FrightTown, she totally hit on me during the commercial breaks. She’ll deny it, though.

What an allegation! Was it just competitive banter or does Portland’s fave girl-about-town really have a little crush on this dashing blueblood? Assess the situation for yourself at the Schoolhouse Supplies Celebrity Spelling Bee on February 11th?

The benefit raises funds to stock the “Free Store for Teachers” and ensure that every child in our community has the tools they need to succeed.

From Schoolhouse Supplies:

Our mission, “to serve classrooms in need by operating a volunteer-run Free Store for Teachers, which is stocked with supplies donated by the community,” is based on the belief that every child deserves school supplies and has the right to a quality education regardless of circumstance.

Schoolhouse Supplies operates Oregon’s first and only volunteer-run Free Store for Teachers to provide teachers with the classroom supplies needed to encourage the learning process for all students, and the Tools for Schools backpack program to support the highest-need school communities in Portland. Today, we are a nationally recognized leader in the Free Store movement, which creates direct links between students and members of the community.