Anthony Willis (at right) was the winner in the first round of the 2008 National Geographic Bee held at Washington-Wilkes Elementary School last Wednesday, January 16. He will advance to the next level of competition, a written exam to determine state competitors.

For the 20th year, the National Geographic Society is holding the National Geographic Bee for students in the fourth through eighth grades in thousands of schools across the United States and in the fiveU.S. territories.

All students in fourth and fifth grades were given a written test to determine which students qualified for the oral bee. Nineteen students at W-WES were eligible to participate in the bee.

Participating in the W-WES Geography Bee were (front row, l-r) Dusty Shelton, Sydney Freeman, Savana Johnson, Dionysus Gartrell, Douglas Walker, (middle) Triston Shelton, Dylan Pulliam, DJ Martin, Shay Ramey, Ryan Jones, Brannon James, (back) Candler Price, TJ Witherspoon, Tremond Ferrell, Anthony Willis, Hannah Forrester, Kelsey Holley, Madison Powell, and Miranda Crook.