Nine local senior girls will compete for more than $20,800 in cash scholarships in the 2018 Lincoln County Distinguished Young Woman (DYW) Program. 

The reigning Lincoln County DYW title holder, Madison Carnes, will give up her title to one of those nine young women on Saturday, Sept. 16, at 6:30 p.m. in the Stuart Underwood Auditorium at LCHS. 

Preparation for the upcoming scholarship program got underway Monday evening at Calvary Hill Baptist Church as the Lincoln County committee, which is chaired by Sheila Underwood, introduced itself to the girls at orientation, helping them fill their calendars for the next 40 days with practices, mock interviews, talent pre-shows and dress rehearsals 

The young ladies who are vying for the title, cash scholarships and the opportunity to represent Lincoln at the state program in January are: Hailey Brogle, Madelyn Day, Cassidy Goetz, Alexandria House, Hayley Jones, Emma Kaiser, Kira Lewis, Ally McQueen and Katelyn McWhorter.

A minimum of $20,800 in cash scholarships will be presented at the conclusion of the annual program. The dollar amount could increase by the night of the program as more donations come in. In addidtion to the cash scholarships, hundreds of thousands of dollars in additional college-offered scholarships are also available to the participants. The cash scholarships presented may be used at the college of their choice.

This year’s local winner will receive a $4,200 cash scholarship. The first runner-up in the program will receive a $3,200 cash scholarship while the second runner-up will receive $2,200 and the third runner-up, $1,200.

DYW is a scholastic program so high academics do not go unrewarded. A $1,000 scholarship will be awarded to the overall scholastic achievement winner, a scholarship of $500 will be given to the runner-up and the third- and fourth-place candidates will each receive $450.

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

Four awards will be presented in each of the preliminary areas of interview, talent, self expression and fitness. Four awards of $450 will be presented in interview and $375 in talent, with four $300 awards given to self expression and fitness preliminary winners.

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

Tickets for the program go on sale in September.

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Founded in 1958 in Mobile, Alabama, Distinguished Young Women (DYW) is the largest and oldest national scholarship program for high school girls. During its 60 years of operation, the program has provided life-changing experiences for more than 750,000 young women. Last year, DYW provided almost $1.5 billion in cash and college scholarship opportunities to program participants at the local, state and national level.
The mission of DYW is to positively impact the lives of young women by providing a transformative experience that promotes and rewards scholarship, leadership and talent. National sponsors include Mobile County, City of Mobile, Wintzell’s Oyster House, Encore Rehabilitation, Alabama Power Foundation, Master Boat Builders, The Barbara Barrington Jones Family Foundation, Regions Financial Corporation, Evonik Industries and The Alabama Media Group.
For more information, contact Adrienne Rea at National Headquarters 251-438-3621, Adrienne@DistinguishedYW.org or visit www.DistinguishedYW.org. Find us on Facebook, Twitter and YouTube.