The memory of Mr. Whig, a character used by the late Thomas Gephardt in an Enquirer column, will return on June 11.

That is when Gephardt, former editor of the editorial page of the Enquirer, will be inducted into the Cincinnati Society of Professional Journalism Hall of Fame at a banquet at 6 p.m. in the Millennium Hotel, downtown.

Gephardt used the character for almost 32 years in a column to lament the state of human affairs, dignifying family values. Mr. Whig faded away when Gephardt retired from the Enquirer in 1992. Gephardt died in November 2002.

Former Enquirer publisher William Keating will present Gephardt's name for induction.

Others to be inducted are Dick Rawe, who wrote and edited for the Cincinnati Post for 50 years, until 1993; and Henry Segal, editor/owner for 55 years of the American Israelite, a weekly newspaper circulated in the Jewish community.

New York Times White House correspondent Elisabeth Bumiller is the keynote speaker.

Bumiller, a graduate of Walnut Hills High School, received a bachelor's degree in journalism from Northwestern University and a master's degree in journalism from Columbia University.

She is the author of two books: May You Be the Mother of a Hundred Sons and The Secrets of Mariko.

For more information, call 791-7140.

Spelling bee champ

Could you have spelled "fichu,'' "esplanade,'' "theodicy'' or "lepidopteran"?

Matthew Giese, a sixth-grader at Mars Hill Academy, Union Township, Clermont County, spelled those words correctly to win the Association of Christian Schools International National Spelling Bee in Washington, D.C, on May 15.

Matthew is the son of Tim and Mary Giese, Amelia.

Banking program

More than 100 students graduated from Fifth Third's Young Bankers Club last week in a ceremony at Mayerson Academy, Corryville. Started in February, the club is an outreach program that combines financial literacy with mentoring.

Student designs win

A Walton, Ky., school is one of the winners in the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center's 2004 Monument Challenge competition.

Jan Garbett's fifth- and eighth-grade classes at St. Joseph's Academy won with their designs "Pathway'' and "Passage to Freedom from Slavery.''

The competition is for students and youth groups to study the history of the Underground Railroad and use what they have learned to design a monument.

Each school receives $500 from Knowledge Works Foundation. Their designs will be placed on the Freedom Center Web site: www.freedomcenter.org.

Faith matters

MOUNT HEALTHY - A group of religious sisters hopes to give families some healthy fun while raising funds and awareness of their small congregation.

The first "Run for the Nuns" won't be until Oct. 2, but the sisters at the Monastery of St. Clare, known as the Poor Clares, are already looking for people to donate funds for the run/walk.

"We're not really well known, so the event is a combination of needing money for maintenance and raising awareness about us being in the area," said Sister Doris Gerke, 61, of Cincinnati, one of the organizers.

The sisters are part of an autonomous monastery in the Order of St. Clare and have been in Cincinnati since 1990. But they have only occupied their Mount Healthy building, 1505 Miles Road, adjacent to Winton Woods park, since 1998. The monastery is home to eight sisters and has room for 12.

"Most of our day is spent in prayer, and none of us have salaries. We do as much of our work on our own as possible," Gerke said.

The sisters invite the community to use meeting spaces at the monastery as well as the chapel and wooded grounds.

The "Run for the Nuns" will be at Winton Woods park and includes children's events and a blessing of animals because of the date's proximity to the Feast of St. Francis.

For information, registration or to make a donation, call 825-7177 or write to Monastery of St. Clare; 1505 Miles Road, Cincinnati, OH 45231.