[Congressional Record Volume 164, Number 94 (Thursday, June 7, 2018)]
[House]
[Page H4860]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




 RECOGNIZING PAUL HAMRICK, MONTEREY COUNTY'S 2018 SPELLING BEE CHAMPION

  (Mr. PANETTA asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. PANETTA. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize Paul Hamrick, 
Monterey County's 2018 Spelling Bee champion and two-time Scripps 
National Spelling Bee contestant.
  Last year, Paul finished in 35th place, but this year, and just last 
week, out of over 500 spellers from all 50 States, Paul finished the 
Bee tied for seventh, the best finish ever for a Monterey County 
student.
  Now, in a lot of ways, Paul is a normal 14-year-old from the central 
coast of California. He loves Weird Al Yankovic, the movie ``Black 
Panther,'' and he even likes to bowl. But Paul is the only Monterey 
County student to ever make the evening finals at the National Spelling 
Bee.
  Paul's proud father, Tom, said that Paul studied over 50,000 words 
this year. That number is incredibly impressive because, according to a 
2016 study, the typical English-speaking 20-year-old American only 
knows 42,000 words.
  During last Thursday's Scripps National Spelling Bee, Paul 
confidently spelled words that most people couldn't even pronounce, 
like ``soubresaut'' and ``binnacle'' and ``rubricate,'' an impressive 
run and finish for a very intelligent young man.
  Congratulations, Paul. You should be proud of your hard work because, 
from the central coast of California to right here in the U.S. 
Congress, we are proud of you.

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