STANFORD — The countdown is on.

For the next five weeks, 15 Lincoln County senior girls will likely be “no-shows” when it comes to many social events.

On Monday, those 15 girls – Raelyn Amon, Maddy Boyle, Sara Mae Bullock, Tabitha Cain, Hannah Jacobs, Emma King, Anna Lane, Grace Muse, Katherine Rowe, Celia San Juan, Emery Sears, Catherine Smith, Alexa Wesley, Kaitlynn Wilks and Jessie Wilson – filled up the next 33 days on their calendar with practices, mock interviews, talent pre-shows and dress rehearsals as they prepare for the 2019 Lincoln County Distinguished Young Woman (DYW) Program.

The current Lincoln County DYW, Madelyn Day, who assisted in Monday’s orientation, will give up her title to one of those 15 young women on Saturday, Sept. 8 at the 2019 program. The program will be held at 6:30 p.m. in the Stuart Underwood Auditorium at Lincoln County High School.

However, it isn’t so much Day’s title that draws the girls to the program but rather the thousands of dollars in cash scholarships and hundreds of thousands of dollars in college-offered scholarships up for grabs. This year, there is $22,100 in cash scholarships available and currently over $200,000 in college-offered scholarships available.

The mission of Distinguished Young Women is to empower outstanding high school young women by providing scholarship opportunities, developing life skills and encouraging positive values and to impact the lives of all young women through its “Be Your Best Self” outreach program.

The local DYW committee, which is chaired by Sheila Underwood, introduced itself to the 2019 DYW participants during Monday’s orientation at Calvary Hill Baptist Church.

This year’s Lincoln County DYW winner will receive a $4,100 cash scholarship. The first runner-up in the program will receive a $3,100 cash scholarship, second runner-up will receive $2,100, third runner-up, $1,100, and fourth runner-up, $550.

To earn scholarship money, the DYW candidates are evaluated in a total of five categories, including judges interview, scholastic achievement, talent, self expression and fitness. Fifty percent of the evaluation, judges interview (25%) and scholastic achievement (25%) will be completed before the girls take the stage. The remaining 50 percent is judged on stage with talent accounting for 20% of the participant’s total score and self expression and fitness accounting for 15% each.

The DYW program is a scholastic program, so high academic achievement is well rewarded. A $1,000 cash scholarship will be awarded to the overall scholastic achievement winner and a $500 scholarship to the runner-up. Three additional runner-up scholarships in the amount of $425 will also be awarded.

Five awards will be presented in each of the other four preliminary areas of interview, talent, self expression and fitness. Four awards of $425 will be presented in interview, with four awards of $330 in talent and four awards of $275 in both self expression and fitness.

In addition, a $600 Phyllis Cooley Memorial Spirit Award and a $600 Jennifer Baker “Be Your Best Self” Memorial Award will be presented.

Tickets for the 2019 DYW program are $10 each and will go on sale Aug. 23. Call 606-365-9782 to reserve tickets.