The Windham Education Foundation raised more than $2,000 last week with a spelling bee hosted by Maine humorist Tim Sample.

With names like “Betty’s Ditch Divas” and “The Regal Rotarians,” 11 three-member teams competed in the event, which was loosely based on the game show Jeopardy.

Contestants picked the category and difficulty of each question, with more points being rewarded for difficult questions. All categories had something to do with music, and points were taken away for incorrect answers. Answers were written down on pads of papers and collected by a team of judges.

The first-place trophy went to three ladies clad in red sweaters know as “The Contraltos,” a team consisting of Windham teachers Jennifer Frick, Tracie Mitchell and Jenny Doughty of Gorham.

“Mom, I never thought you’d win,” Mitchell was told matter-of-factly by her teenage daughter Lesley after the contest.

“I think we played a very strategic game,” said Doughty. Her team skipped the questions they didn’t think they knew and only wagered a small amount for the final question.

All the teams struggled to spell many of the words, which were obscure unfamiliar to most contestants. Some of the words to be spelled were proper names, such as Russian composer Mily Alexeyevich Balakirev and blues singer Gaye Adegbalola. Sample had some fun with the answer to one of the questions, the phrase “jian pu,” the Chinese system for writing musical notes, which he repeatedly pronounced as “yang-poo.”

Formed in October 2005, the Windham Education Foundation offers two scholarships for college-bound Windham students and plans to begin giving grants to teachers for additional in-class spending. The money raised at the bee is only a small portion of the group’s yearly fundraising goal of $25,000, according to board member Pamela Hageny.

“This is about helping schools,” said Donald Parent, president of the foundation.

A floral arrangement was given to a randomly-selected attendee by the Sebago Gardens nursery of Windham and a 50-50 raffle was held. The winners of the raffle, Bill and Carol Keller of Windham, donated the $174 they won back to the organizers.

Sample said he’d like to see more people get involved in helping schools in the future and said he would be open to hosting the spelling bee again next year.

“I just love the idea of a local school,” said Sample.

Sample opened the show by cracking a few jokes about rural Maine. “People ask me where I get my material, and I say, ‘you’re not paying attention,'” he said.

The word to be spelled for the category of “More Musical Terms for 600” was the style of classical music that dominated the seventeenth century – baroque.

“I was drivin’ the skiddah and the rear wheel baroque,” Sample joked.

Bee1: Spelling bee team “The Regal Rotarians” huddle over a difficult question at last weeks charity competition. From left: Tricia Zwirner, Mark Wasowski and Renee Pottle. As president of the Sebago Lake Rotary Club, Wasowski accepted the Community Service Leadership Award from the Sebago Lakes Region Chamber of Commerce last month for his groups continued public service, such as the ice fishing derby that raises money for Camp Sunshine.Bee2: Champions (from left) Jenny Doughty, Tracie Mitchell and Jennifer Frick, hold their trophy after winning the Windham Education Foundation’s spelling bee. Doughty said her team, named “The Contraltos,” decided to wear red sweaters an hour before the competition began.Bee3 and Bee4: Maine humorist warmed up the crowd with some rural stand-up comedy and a song before hosting the Windham Education Foundation’s spelling bee. The event raised more than $2,000, according to board member Chris Farmer.Bee3 and Bee4: Maine humorist warmed up the crowd with some rural stand-up comedy and a song before hosting the Windham Education Foundation’s spelling bee. The event raised more than $2,000, according to board member Chris Farmer.