The Distinguished Young Women program has been a part of Pearl River County history since 1965. Formerly known as Junior Miss, the Distinguished Young Women Scholarship Program gives over 1 billion in scholarship money annually on a national level. This is accomplished through our programs and partnerships with over 100 colleges and universities. Through the program alone, 2.1 million in scholarships are awarded annually.

The pillars of the Distinguished Young Women program are Scholarship, Leadership, and Talent. Each young lady is given the mentoring and direction to “Be Your Best Self”. To be your best self, we focus on the following elements: Ambition, Responsibility, Health, Education, Community Service, and Involvement. When you combine all of these, being your best self falls into place.

No matter the level a participant finishes the program, they will leave with a strong sense of self-confidence, especially in communication and public speaking. There are so many benefits and learning experiences when you become a part of the Distinguished Young Women Scholarship Program and they last throughout your life.

Seven 11th-grade ladies were participating this year and they are true gems. High-achieving in areas of academia, talent, physical well-being, community service, and volunteerism. When the Distinguished Young Woman title is given, she will serve her senior year which the program is why we’re always a year ahead.

A big thank you to the following individuals and businesses for their support this year. This year, the co-chairs of the program are Hayley Wells and Tara White and the coordination team is Regina Hansen, Jordan Hebert, Kathleen Odom, Nancy Oldmixon, Kelli Pascal, and Nickie Smith. We’d also like to thank the guests that came to speak to the girls on the different elements of Distinguished Young Women and they are Ambition, Nancy Oldmixon; Education and Public Speaking, Susan Barker-Spiers and Donna Porter; Health and Beauty Care, Cherie Curtin and Raquel Theriot; Community Service and Involvement, Nickie Smith. Our hosts for this year are Abby Montgomery and Blake Travis as well as all those helping with ticket sales up front and backstage. Our sponsors this year are: Platinum, Rotary Club of Picayune and Pearl River Community College; Silver Sponsors, DebrisTech and Executive Storage; Bronze Sponsors, Allstate-The Pigott Agency, Angela Hawthorne, Clymer Contracting, Devin Smith-RE/MAX Premier Group Realtor, State Farm-John McAulay, LAMS Professional Services, Southern Marketing and Printing, Huey and Rocky Stockstill, Sweet Pete’s Monogramming, Yune Yard Cards, and Yunity Nutrition. We’d also like to thank everyone that supported the participants by placing an ad in the program.

The seven participants and their profiles can be seen in the attached images.