2022 Progress: Distinguished Through the Decades

Distinguished through the decades

2022

Contact Russellville City Hall at 256-332-6060 304 Jackson Ave. N Russellville, AL

A Great Place to Live, Work & Raise a family Russellville City Councilmen:

David Palmer, District 1; Darren Woodruff, District 2; Gary Cummings, District 3; Dexter Hamilton, District 4; Jamie Harris, District 5; Mayor David R. Grissom

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Letter from the editor Distinguished through the decades

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Table of Contents 5 8 9

22 2005: Addie (Pickett) Harbin

What is DYW? Distinguished through the Decades 1968: Beverly (Clark) Wiginton 1969: Dianne (Wages) Pace

10 1987: Michelle (Davis) Campbell 11 1989: Laura (Burrow) Sheehan 12 1991: Amanda Ray 14 1993: Heather (Barber) Boyd 15 1994: Melanie (Hargett) Collum 1995: Heather (Ergle) Hyche

16 1996: Felicia (Wallace) Rutledge 1997: Kitty (Rogers) Brown

17 1999: Elishaba (Graben) Larson 2000: Lindsay (Gerstman) Almond

18 2001: Kathryn (Keeton) Nix 19 2003: Anna (Davis) Craig 20 2004: Nicole (Nix) Henderson

2006: Alison (Barksdale) Montanaro

23 2007: Lydia (Hammock) Freeman 2008: Paige (Palmer) Thorne

24 2009: Anne Kathryn (Allen) Olson 25 2010: Emma McDowell 2012: Mariah Horton

26 2013: Maggie Coan

2014: Julie Masterson

27 2015: Anna Catherine Smith 28 2016: Holly Hardin 2018: Alison Hope (Bryant) Evans

29 2019: Elizabeth Pierce 30 2020: Bailey Bolton 2021: Lily Pounders

31 2022: Madeline Cooper

P.O. Box 1088 501 N. Jackson Ave. Suite 7 Russellville, AL 35653 256-332-1881 www.franklincountytimes.com

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hat does it mean to be distinguished?

For many of us, a certain image probably immediately comes to mind.

Maybe it’s the idea of a renowned diplomat, speaking eloquently to a large assembly.

Maybe it’s a military hero, standing ramrod straight in their dress blues, blazoned with medals and badges. Perhaps it’s a prominent minister in suit and tie, an Olympic medalist on the tri-level podium or even an animal, like a prized show horse trotting proudly, or an inanimate object, like a stately historic home.

For this year’s Progress edition, we are pleased to highlight a special kind of distinguished individual: the Distinguished Young Women of Franklin County.

From its origins as Junior Miss to what it is today, the DYW program has long honored the most illustrious women among us. Held in counties around the state to choose representatives for the state-level competition, Distinguished Young Women is not your run-of-the-mill beauty pageant. After all, clothing and appearance are not what define a distinguished person.

Instead, our DYWs are what you might call “the total package.”

The national scholarship program recognizes high school rising seniors who are driven to succeed and who exhibit academic prowess, leadership skills, unique talents and more.

Let me make a confession here: I was a little intimidated to take on this topic. I have wanted to present a special series on our DYW from throughout the decades for quite some time, but let’s face it, it’s no easy task. After all, Franklin County is privileged and proud to have awarded many deserving young women, with local program records dating back into the ’60s – and truth be told, I was and am in awe of them.

Could I do justice to their stories and to the overall story of this program and what it means to those who have participated?

I didn’t want to let anyone down. I didn’t want to make a promise and fail to deliver.

But in the end, when we get to be the mouthpiece of so much excellence, how can we go wrong?

In this year’s issue of Progress, you will read the stories of many of these young women – their experience with Junior Miss/DYW and who they have become.

In short, they have done us proud.

I’d like to say thank you so much to all the women who gave me the opportunity to share a piece of their stories with their home county.

They were all so generous with their time and their thoughts, and it’s that very nature that plays into the Distinguished Young Women that they are.

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WHAT IS DISTINGUISHED YOUNG WOMEN?

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f ever there was an expert on the Distinguished Young Women of Franklin County, it would have to be Dr. Susan Hargett. After all, the Belgreen native has been coordinating the local program, coaxing high school girls to pursue their highest potential, since the mid-1980s.

“My job is teenage girl whisperer,” Hargett said jokingly. She puts her all into encouraging and motivating local girls into participating in the DYW program. “It’s almost like a ministry. We’re changing lives, one at a time.”

Prior to Hargett’s taking charge, she said Franklin

County didn’t have a formal competition, as such; rather, local competitors entered the state competition at-large.

“If you don’t have a program in your county, you go down and compete at large, and there’s still lots of counties that do that,” Hargett explained. “A lot of counties don’t have a program – and nobody has a program as good as us.”

When Hargett was first recruited by state coordinators to lead local programming, she sent at-large Franklin Countian Jamie McBrayer to state in 1986. “I knew she was valedictorian of her class – super talented and very smart,” Hargett said. The following year, with Hargett’s initiative, an official county competition began in 1987. Held at Belgreen High School, the new local program named Michelle Davis as its first winner, and participation each year began to include more girls from across the county – whereas prior to the local competition being established, primarily Russellville girls had represented the county in an at-large capacity.

Of course, DYW has its roots in the Junior Miss program. According to program history, Junior Miss started as a local competition based in Mobile, originally called Azalearama. When girls from across state lines started signing up to participate, sponsors opened it up to high school girls from every state and renamed it the Junior Miss America Pageant in 1957, with a slight change to America’s Junior Miss in 1959.

By the early 1960s, every state in the nation boasted a Junior Miss program, with the state winners converging in Mobile for the national competition.

Aside from a brief flirtation with the name America’s Young Woman of the Year in the ’80s, the program continued as Junior

We care about community, and we care about kids.

Not all people are made to feel special by their friends or family, so we’re changing the world one girl at a time.

Miss until 2010, when it was rebranded as Distinguished Young Women – a title Hargett said represents, at least in part, the program’s effort to distance itself from the idea of a beauty pageant, as Junior Miss/DYW has always been a merit-based scholarship program rather than a pageant.

“They wanted to remove everything that screamed pageant,” Hargett said. You won’t find tiaras or bathing suit competitions among Distinguished Young Women.

“It’s always been said, it’s more like ‘the girl next door,’” – that is, the smart, well spoken, talented, fit and poised girl next door. “It’s not somebody who’s trying to be beautiful; it’s more about the girl who is beautiful on the inside.”

That’s a focus that is illustrated in the components of DYW. Competitors are judged and scored based on the same criteria at the local, state and national levels: • Scholastics, 25 percent – A panel of qualified individuals familiar with high school transcripts evaluates the participant’s high school academic record and test scores.

• Interview, 25 percent – Judges note each girl’s personality, ability to relate to others, maturity and ability to express her thoughts during a 10-minute personal interview.

• Talent, 20 percent – Each contestant presents a 90-second performing arts presentation on stage in front of an audience. Judges award points for technical ability, appropriateness of selection, stage presence and execution.

• Fitness, 15 percent – During a choreographed group routine, judges evaluate each girl’s physical stamina, coordination, agility and flexibility.

• Self expression, 15 percent – Judges evaluate the participant’s grace, poise, demeanor, carriage, posture and speaking ability as she moves about the stage and speaks on a provided topic.

In 1994-1995, Franklin County combined its program with those in Lauderdale and Colbert counties. It all started when Hargett got a call from the state coordinators.

“They said, ‘The Jaycees have given up the program in Florence, and there’s not anybody to take it. Would you take it?’” With her hands full in Franklin County, Hargett knew there was no way she could take on an additional county program. “I said, ‘Here’s the deal: If I can do Franklin, Colbert and Lauderdale together, I’ll take it, but we have to have a winner from each county” – a Hargett mandate that ended the previous tradition of having only one winner from either Lauderdale or Colbert, rather than one from each.

With a competition that was about to more than

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Katernia Cole-Coffey and Dr. Susan Hargett review past years' program books with this year's Franklin County Distinguished Young Woman Madeline Cooper. triple in size, Hargett had to find somewhere a little larger to host it than Belgreen. “That year we called Norton Auditorium, and we just happened to be pretty good friends with Robert Potts,” University of North Alabama president. The Hargetts’ daughter had just started college at UNA, and she had made quite an impression on Potts. “He said, ‘Is that the quality of girls you’re going to bring?’ We said, ‘Yes, sir!’ And he said, well, we’re not going to charge you anything for the auditorium. We’re going to embrace you, we’re going to do a big breakfast, we’re going to give the girls who win full scholarships.” And with that, the Northwest Alabama Distinguished Young Women program began to take shape – and continues to be held in Norton Auditorium each year. “He was a big believer in the program.”

That first year for the combined competition, Hargett said the local contest won the state award for best program. It’s an award the state doesn’t give out anymore – but she wishes they would bring it back.

“That was a really big motivational thing to us.”

In 2016 Hargett joined forces with a willing cochairperson: Katernia Cole-Coffey, the Franklin County Extension director. Although Cole-Coffey said she was hesitant at first, it was ultimately a perfect fit, as “the mission of Distinguished Young Women and the Cooperative Extension go hand in hand.” It comes down to the lifestyle and life skills the Extension encourages – many of them the very same promoted

by DYW. “We want you to be healthy, physically fit and drug-free,” Cole-Coffey said. “Be involved, serve your

community. Be studious – stay in school. Be ambitious, set and achieve goals, be responsible, live by moral and ethical principles.”

In short, the focus is, as it has been for years, on encouraging each girl to “Be your best self.”

With all of that on the line, DYW is a lot of work for the girls who sign up to participate; of course, it’s also a lot of fun – a real “work hard, play hard” situation.

It’s also a lot of work for Hargett, Cole-Coffey and everyone else who is part of helping pull the program together each year, whether in the spotlight or behind the scenes.

“Nobody knows the number of hours this program takes, and it’s all volunteer,” Hargett said. “We’ve had a lot of good people help with the program during the years … And Franklin County has always been

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very supportive – the merchants of the program, the food, and we appreciate that so much. Cities, banks, businesses – they just go over and beyond.”

“No doubt about it, Franklin County always comes through,” Cole-Coffey agreed.

One of those volunteers is Lela Ray, who has been involved in several past programs.

“It needs to be promoted, and we need the girls to participate,” said Ray. “We always have such smart young women, but there are others who probably know nothing about it, and they need to know.”

Former winners also often come back to volunteer especially the previous year’s winner, who is integral to the next year’s programming.

For Cole-Coffey, it comes down to an opportunity to give back. “You’ve got to give back to your community, and you’ve got to do things for other people,” ColeCoffey said. “I know someone sacrificed for me, and I need to give back and do the same in return for someone else.

And this is so important for a young woman to participate in because of the scholarship opportunity. It opens doors.

“That’s why I do it.”

“Katernia and I both have a servant’s heart,” Hargett added. “We care about community, and we care about kids.”

It’s the same mentality Hargett has in her role as grant writer for Franklin County Schools, securing funding for after-school programs and other needs.

“We want them to know we care about them, and we’re going the extra mile

for them … Not all people are made to feel special by their friends or family, so we’re changing the world one girl at a time.”

One of the Northwest Alabama program’s most recent accomplishments has been soldiering on through the pandemic. Forced to move to the Clarion Inn because of COVID-19 restrictions at UNA in August 2020, the local program continued in its annual tradition nevertheless. “We were one of the only ones that had a program in 2020,” Hargett said. “We had 15 sign up … and then we were very limited because we could only have 100 people in the audience. But we pulled it off. We gave them a program, and we were really proud of what we did with them to make them feel special.”

The state program was held virtually in January 2021. When August 2021 rolled around, the local program was able to return to Norton Auditorium.

In the final analysis, Cole-Coffey and Hargett find that the girls who participate have a positive experience, making friendships and memories to last a lifetime.

“Right before they announce the winners, the girls are downstairs getting ready, and that’s when we do a little talk and have a prayer, and they start saying, ‘I don’t care if I win or not. It’s just been such a good experience,’” Hargett said. “They get so wrapped up in each other, and that’s my favorite time – them getting excited for each other.

“I just think everybody ought to consider doing it.”

“Preparing our Students for the Future” Greg Hamilton Superintendent of Franklin County Schools Pre-K - 12th grade

We nurture success in our classrooms…

Teaching valuable organization and study skills, academic support, technical subjects, fine arts, and vocational/technical skills. We equip students with the confidence, tools and knowledge they need to succeed at every level.

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he following is the list of known Franklin County Distinguished Young Women dating back to 1968.

Where known, maiden name is given in parentheses followed by married name, while some women are listed with maiden name only.

1968 – Beverly (Clark) Wiginton 1969 – Dianne (Wages) Pace 1973 – Lisa Gaines 1974 – Mary Allen 1975 – Lisa Terry Walsh 1976 – Robin Mann 1977 – Cindy (Nix) Harris 1979 – Lori Pace 1980 – Connie Nix 1981 – Connie King 1983 – Paula Dobbs 1984 – Dana Hester 1985 – Jan Glass 1986 – Jamie McBrayer 1987 – Michelle (Davis) Campbell 1988 – Laurie Graves 1989 – Laura (Burrow) Sheehan

1990 – Leigh (Hester) Rice 1991 – Amanda (Ray) Rushing 1992 – Teresa Abernathy 1993 – Heather (Barber) Boyd 1993 – Beth Humphries 1994 – Melanie (Hargett) Collum 1995 – Heather (Ergle) Hyche 1996 – Felicia (Wallace) Rutledge 1997 – Kitty (Rogers) Brown 1998 – Christina Harrison 1999 – Elishaba (Graben) Larson 2000 – Lindsay (Gerstman) Almond 2001 – Kathryn (Keeton) Nix 2002 – Meredith (James) Purser 2003 – Anna (Davis) Craig 2004 – Nicole (Nix) Henderson 2005 – Addie (Pickett) Harbin

2006 – Alison (Barksdale) Montanaro 2007 – Lydia (Hammock) Freeman 2008 – Paige (Palmer) Thorne 2009 – Anne Kathryn (Allen) Olson 2010 – Emma McDowell 2011 – Jordan Moore 2012 – Mariah Horton 2013 – Maggie Coan 2014 – Julie (Masterson) Russ 2015 – Anna Catherine Smith 2016 – Holly Hardin 2017 – Ana Castillo 2018 – Alison Hope (Bryant) Evans 2019 – Elizabeth Pierce 2020 – Bailey Bolton 2021 – Lily Pounders 2022 – Madeline Cooper

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1968 – BEVERLY (CLARK) WIGINTON

“I

was just very involved in high school. It was natural for me.”

Beverly Wiginton – then Clark – was Franklin County’s Junior Miss in 1968, participating in the competition as a natural extension of her passion for being involved in just about everything. The Russellville High alum was a majorette and sought different leadership positions during her high school years. She said she enjoyed school and was friendly with all her classmates. Outside the classroom, she enjoyed activities like swimming, water skiing and boating.

After high school, she originally planned to go to The University of Alabama, but she followed a boyfriend to Florence State University, which later became the University of North Alabama. When they broke up, she moved on to Auburn University.

“My dad graduated from Alabama, and my mother graduated from Auburn,” Wiginton explained. “I could have gone to either and they would have been happy.”

Although she was majoring in biology, Wiginton said she was really working on her “MRS degree.” After two years at Auburn she got married and started a family in the Florence area. While her two daughters were young, she started a jewelry business called Sidelines, LTD in the late 1970s. “I just kind of fell into it and realized it was natural for me …

I had a storefront in English Village in Florence.

We designed jewelry and started a lot of fads, actually,” Wiginton said. “Cloisonné beads – we made those popular. They were round beads made in China. They were enamel. Every time they put a color on them, they

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fired them again, so it was a long process. They were beautiful – all colors and with flowers on them.”

“We made all kinds of earrings and necklaces,” added

Wiginton, who started the shop with one other woman before bringing two additional jewelry-makers in later on.

After their beginnings operating out of the top floor of another shop, they then progressed to their own storefront.

“It was a lot of juggling,” said Wiginton, who had to balance jewelry-making and selling with being the mother of two young girls, Dawn and Kira. “They loved it – the older they got, especially, because they enjoyed the benefits.”

The burgeoning jewelry artist went through a divorce from her first husband, but she soon married Phil Wiginton after mutual friends introduced them. The two have now been happily married 35 years.

In 1995 she decided to get out of the jewelry business.

“We sold it as an ongoing business, and it’s still going on today,” Wiginton said. “That’s close to my heart.”

Jewelry-making would not be Wiginton’s last artistic endeavor. With a non-compete clause in place, she needed to find another outlet than jewelry-making. That’s when she took up pottery.

“Most of it is utilitarian – you can use it and cook it,” said Wiginton, who has now been crafting pottery pieces for 17 years. For a long time her signature piece were ikebana vases. “I sold hundreds of them because they are just so neat.” The unique vases are designed to be part of the traditional Japanese flower arrangement style for which they are named.

Hand-crafted egg trays are now Wiginton’s bread and butter, but she said she enjoys trying different pieces. “I start with a flat slab and just mold it,” she explained.

See WIGINTON, Page 10

1969 – DIANNE (WAGES) PACE

n a scrapbook Dianne Wages Pace’s mother made for her, she preserves the memories of her youth – among them, of her time as Franklin County’s Junior Miss. Newspaper clippings tell the story, details documented on aging yellow newsprint.

“I never was one to be interested in pageants,” said Pace, a retired Russellville schoolteacher. “I just kind of did it on a whim.

I knew there was scholarship money attached to it, so I thought that would be a good thing, too.”

Back then the Franklin County program was coordinated by the Russellville Jaycees, and the winner might be referred to as Franklin County Junior Miss or a variation on that title including the Jaycee designation.

Pace was crowned – because yes, a crowning was part of the honor at that time – at the Jaycees’ Franklin County Fair.

During her high school years at Russellville, Pace said she was an active student, particularly in the arts.

“I loved anything theatrical and the arts,” Pace said. “I was really involved in any of our drama production or chorus things.” She was president of the Glee Club, and much of her time was dedicated to playing oboe and clarinet and being a majorette in the Marching Hundred Band.

“I took art in the summer from Lela Ray,” Pace said. “She taught us different techniques

Pace peruses the scrapbook made for her by her mother, memorializing her growing up years. Among its pages are news clippings from Pace’s Junior Miss experience. Pace, a retired schoolteacher, has also written several books – the latest (not pictured) being her children’s book “Too Many Santas,” released during the 2021 holiday season.

– water color, oils, and the best thing she did was ordered a potter’s wheel, and she taught us how to work with clay.” Oil painting became a love Pace continues to this day.

Home ec was another passion; Pace was also president of the Future Homemakers of America. She said this passion was one she discovered under high school home

economics teacher Dot Murphy. “She was a fantastic, phenomenal teacher, as was Mrs. Ray. They both had strong influences on me.”

After high school Pace attended Florence State. She first majored in music, with designs on a career path as a school music teacher, but she later shifted her focus to elementary education. Pace and her husband Barry – they married during her freshman year of college, 1969 – moved to Georgia in 1971 for his teaching job. She finished her bachelor’s degree at Tift College of Education, Mercer University, graduating in 1972, and immediately got a job as a first-grade teacher.

In the first nine years of her career, Pace did wind up teaching music, as well as halfday kindergarten, sixth grade and second grade, in addition to her first role in first grade.

The Paces moved back to Alabama in 1982 to care for Barry’s ailing parents. Pace taught kindergarten in Russellville from 1983-1994 before moving back into first grade from 19942000.

“I loved teaching young children because I love interacting with them, and I love what they teach me – as much as what I teach them,” she said. “Young children are so inquisitive, and they are so ready to learn.

They are just like big ol’ sponges – they just

See PACE, Page 10

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Pace

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can’t get enough. It’s just so much fun to see their lights come on and all those ‘aha’ experiences they have. It just makes teaching so rewarding.”

From there she worked in the child development program at NorthwestShoals Community College. She wrote grants, provided teacher training, wrote a newsletter and hosted a television program called Today’s Child. During that time she was also on the advisory board for the state Pre-K program when it first came to be, and she helped write the standards for that program.

“When I retired from the college in 2011, the state hired me to work as an education specialist for the Department of Early Childhood Education,” Pace said. She kept that role from 2011-2018.

When it comes to Junior Miss, Pace said it was a wonderful experience that “expanded my horizons.”

As with many of the Junior Misses/ Distinguished Young Women from throughout the years, she particularly enjoyed her week at the state competition.

“We were hosted by a host family in a beautiful home in Birmingham – me and two

other girls,” she said. “It was just lovely …

Every day they would send a car and take us to Julia Tutwiler Hotel, and we would learn our dance for the physical part, and one day we went down and worked on our talent and got ready for our interviews and everything.”

For her talent, Ray helped Pace put together a song/piano piece from “You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown” in which Schroeder plays “Moonlight Sonata” and Lucy accompanies him on vocals – off-key, with adoring lyrics of her own making.

Pace said the state competition “was a wonderful experience, start to finish.”

“When you come from a little town like Russellville – and it especially was back then – it really gave me an opportunity to meet other people,” she said. “I’ve already encouraged my granddaughter to do it. It’s a wonderful opportunity for girls.”

Among her many accomplishments Pace has also written three books, with more in the works.

She and Barry have two children, Brian and Brent, both of whom are married – to Jennifer and Bridget, respectively – and have given the Paces nine grandchildren, ranging from first grade to graduate school.

Wiginton She avoids working on a wheel, as it aggravates the arthritis in her neck from the many years of jewelry-making.

“Pottery started out as a hobby, and that’s what I’d prefer it to be, but my husband said if I brought any more in the house, I’d have to take some out the back,” Wiginton joked. That’s how she began selling her pieces. She attends a craft show now and

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Beverly Clark, 1968 Junior Miss, crowns Dianne Wages, 1969 Junior Miss, for Franklin County. The two were friends growing up, making this a special moment between them.

Continued from page 9 then, but primarily she works directly with customers who seek her out.

Outside of her creative forays, Wiginton is driven by family and faith. She attends The Chapel in Florence, and she said faith is what helped get her through some tough years in her first marriage and what enriches her life now.

“I would really like to see all my

grandchildren married to the Christian God chooses for them and have happy, fulfilled lives,” she said. “That’s my heart.” Between them, Beverly and Phil have four children and now eight grandchildren, who range from 8-20 years old – seven girls and one boy.

The 71-year-old has a family history deeply rooted in Russellville, with her

grandparents having started Clark’s Department Store and her parents carrying on its operation.

Wiginton said representing Franklin County as Junior Miss was thrilling and an honor. “It was really rewarding. I met so many nice girls.

“And I’m very thankful to be where I am now.”

1987 – MICHELLE (DAVIS) CAMPBELL

hil Campbell’s Michelle (Davis) Campbell leaned on the wisdom and encouragement of a couple family members in her decision to take part in Franklin County’s Junior Miss competition: her aunt, Jean Stewart, and her aunt’s daughter, Robin (Mann) Drake – a for mer Franklin County Junior Miss herself in 1976.

“Robin was a for mer Miss Alabama Teen USA, and I had grown up watching her participate in many programs,” Campbell noted.

As a high school Bobcat, Campbell was involved in varsity cheer, National Honor Society, Student Council and various other clubs. Despite being an active and social person, she said she still had to contend with nerves during the Junior Miss program.

“It was challenging because I did

get very nervous during the process. It takes a lot of hard work and time,” said

Campbell, nevertheless describing it as “well worth any challenges.”

“Present-day high school students should embrace the opportunity to participate in the DYW program,” she added. “It will be full of opportunities for their future, and they will make great memories along the way … I met some wonderful friends that, even today, 35 years later, I keep in touch with.”

As for Campbell’s future, after high school she attended The University of Alabama, where she ear ned her bachelor’s degree in early childhood/ elementary education. It’s a degree she has put to good use – for the past 12 years, as a second- through fourthgrade teacher at Elite Lear ning Academy in Coppell, Texas.

“Our school is inside Texas Dreams

Gymnastics facility. My daughter was a gymnast here for 13 years and attended the school, so I began teaching here when she was younger,” Campbell explained. “I love it. The girls are very well behaved and goal driven.

The school also allows kids from other sports or activities to come to our school.”

Campbell lives in Highland Village, Texas, a suburb of Dallas, having lived in the state for 25 years. “We did move back to Alabama for three years at one point, but we now remain in Texas with no plans to move again,” she said.

She has two children: daughter Reagan is 23 and in a fifth-year senior at Louisiana State University, where she is a member of the gymnastics team, and son Davis is 19 and a freshman at LSU.

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1989 – LAURA (BURROW) SHEEHAN

“I

wanted to experience the program that represented our county. I had lived all my life in Franklin County, so to me it was a neat experience, if you did win, to represent the place you called home.”

Belgreen’s Laura (Burrow) Sheehan got her chance to represent her county as the Franklin County Junior Miss of 1989.

Now a mother of four, Sheehan looks back fondly on her time as Junior Miss.

“It was a great experience. It really promoted a student being their best self,” Sheehan said, calling it a wholesome program. “I liked the fact that it put so much emphasis on academics and the interview process.”

Prior to her own turn in the spotlight, Sheehan had taken part as a “Little Sister” in the program the year before and also has memories of watching the event from the audience. She has returned as an audience member several times in the years since, and she even served as a judge one year. “I think it’s a really worthwhile program. I would definitely encourage any girl to be in it. I think it lends itself to a genuine person who tries to do their best in everything.”

It’s that mentality, ingrained in her as Junior Miss, that Sheehan has carried with her throughout her life. “Anything I was involved in, I have always tried to give my 110 percent,” said said.

“Going through difficult times in life, you always carry that mentality with you: Be your best self.” It also became a lesson she passes on to her own children, encouraging them to do and be their best, which dovetails right in with her beliefs as a Christian.

At Belgreen, Sheehan was in numerous clubs and cheered. She was also involved in modeling. She put dedicated focus on her grades, finishing high school as the salutatorian of her class.

Following high school Sheehan went to the University of North Alabama, where she majored in language arts and secondary education for her bachelor’s degree, graduating in 1993. She continued into a graduate program, earning her master’s degree in English education in 1995.

She now lives in Killen. She has taught English at Deshler High School and at Calhoun Community College, and she also previously worked stints at The Daily Leader newspaper in Brookhaven, Miss., and as an admissions counselor for Virginia College in Huntsville.

These days Sheehan is a stay-at-home mom for daughter Brighton, 5, but said she has plans to reenter the workforce in some capacity when Brighton starts school in the fall. Daughter Hannah, 16, is a 10th-grader at Brooks High School; daughter Madison, 18, is a student at Northwest-Shoals Community College; and son Blake, 20, is a student at the University of North Alabama. “They all keep me busy with all their activities,” Sheehan said.

A preacher’s wife, Sheehan married husband Paul in 2012. The two had first

Since 1989

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met years ago when he was preaching a gospel meeting at the church where she grew up, Belgreen church of Christ. A Canada native, Paul came to the U.S. to play football for Western Kentucky and went on to preach meetings across the nation; Sheehan was baptized during one of his meetings. The two reconnected later in life, after both had faced similar tragedies, and soon married to become a blended family: He had three older children, and she had Blake, Madison and Hannah. Together the new couple faced two miscarriages and

welcomed Brighton to the world.

They attend Brookhill church of Christ, where Paul is the preacher.

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Pursuing Excellence

Russellville City Schools

is proud of all of the Distinguished Young Women from Franklin County, especially those who have represented our system!

Address: 1945 Waterloo Road Russellville, AL 35653 P: 256-331-2000 Site: www.rcs.k12.al.us

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1991 – AMANDA (RAY) RUSHING

oday Amanda (Ray) Rushing is wife to Heath and mother of four. In 1991, she was representing Franklin County as Junior Miss.

“At that time in high school, you are looking to the future: What are your goals, and how you can make them happen?”

Rushing said. Although that question might be a bit nebulous and hard to pin down, for Rushing, the answer was simple: compete in Junior Miss. “Scholarship opportunities while doing something you enjoy made it a pretty easy choice.”

The Russellville High School student was constantly busy with something, as a Marching Hundred majorette, a HOBY representative and a member of Student Council, Mu Alpha Theta, RHS Singers, annual staff and her church youth group and choir – “just to name a few,” Rushing said. She was also on the Homecoming Court and was named Miss RHS 1991.

For Rushing, the best part of Junior Miss was “making friends from other cities, within Franklin County and when I participated in the state program.”

“Learning and rehearsing for all the group performances was my favorite experience,” Rushing said, noting “lots of laughter” was the order of the day.

She also treasures fond memories of her performance for the talent component of the competition. “I did musical theatre: ‘On My Own’ from the Broadway play, ‘Les Misérables.’ My voice coach suggested it,” Rushing said. “I used to get very nervous performing, but this piece was enjoyable. It probably didn’t hurt that we all had made friends and were supporting each other.”

Rushing’s positive experience was, however, tinged with unique heartache. “I do remember it was during Desert Storm, and once we heard the news, it was very stressful for the participants who had friends and family who were involved,” she said. “I think that brought us all a lot closer.”

After high school Rushing attended Mississippi State University on a band scholarship.

She was an MSU majorette and served as head one year. She also pledged Phi Mu sorority and “enjoyed all that campus life had to offer. Go State!”

She earned her accounting degree from Southern Miss, and her professional career has spanned from working in the audit division of Arthur Andersen in New Orleans to serving as a religion teacher in her children’s school. “With four children, you are always at school, so I guess they just hired me,” Rushing joked.

“We have enjoyed supporting our children in their education, sports, school and community activities,” she added. “Good thing we love to travel because they have settled all over the country. Who knows where this last one will go.”

On the whole, Rushing said she remembers Junior Miss as an experience that broadened her outlook in life. “I would encourage young women to not be afraid to participate in DYW,” she said. “Franklin Country is a great place to grow up, and I have always enjoyed sharing that with the people I meet. I would encourage them to take advantage of all aspects of high school, support their communities and reach out even further to learn about others and how they live. Junior Miss/DYW helped to do that for me my senior year at RHS.”

I would encourage young women to take advantage of all aspects of high school, support their communities and reach out even further to learn about others and how they live. Junior Miss/DYW helped do that for me.

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1993 – HEATHER (BARBER) BOYD

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t Russellville High School, Heather (Barber) Boyd teaches human anatomy and physiology as well as environmental science. She is also cosponsor of the National Honor Society and works with the 21st Century Learning After-School Program at Russellville Elementary She’s also Franklin County Junior Miss 1993.

Boyd said while a student at Belgreen, she was a shy, quiet, studious young woman. She was involved in varsity cheer, Beta Club, FBLA and Student County, and she “loved reading and spending time with my family and friends.”

“I had never participated in many pageants or programs like DYW,” said Boyd. “I was a Little Sister the previous year in the program, and a lot of people encouraged me to give it a try.”

As Franklin County’s representative to the state competition, Boyd said she enjoyed meeting new people. “The hardest part was being away from home.”

Scholarships she received help pay her way through college – first at NorthwestShoals Community College and then at the University of North Alabama.

“I initially wanted to do something with medicine, but I also loved history; I got engaged during this time, so I changed my major to education,” Boyd said. She married Heath Boyd in 1997 – so the two are approaching their 25th anniversary – and graduated the following year with a Bachelor of Science education degree in biology and history.

“I am now a STEM-certified general science with 23 years of teaching experience,” said Boyd. “I started teaching at Deshler High School in 1999-2005. I moved to Russellville High School, where I still currently teach.”

The Boyds have three daughters, Layne, Audrey and Abby, and the family lives in the Belgreen community. In her spare time, Boy said she enjoys reading and spending time with family, which, in addition to her daughters, includes three dogs, Heidi, Molly and Foxy. She also loves watching football, although she noted they are a “house divided,” with fans of both the Alabama Crimson Tide and the Mississippi State Bulldogs.

Boyd said her future plans include

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leaving the workforce in the next seven years, entering a retirement filled with travel.

To those considering taking part in Distinguished Young Women, Boyd hails it as “a great opportunity for young women to become involved, meet new friends and earn scholarship money.”

“My daughter Layne was the scholastic winner and second alternate for Franklin County DYW 2016-2017,” she added. “The support for furthering a young lady’s education is amazing.”

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1994 – MELANIE (HARGETT) COLLUM

rowing up in Franklin County, Melanie (Hargett) Collum was often involved in pageants. Junior Miss was, however, something different.

“I think the thing about DYW that makes it different is they are looking for the all-American high school girl,” said Collum, who reigns as the county’s 1994 Junior Miss. “I think the interview is so important for that program, as well as your grades. That’s what attracted me the most.

It’s just a wholesome program. It’s just about being well rounded and being AllAmerican.”

Collum, daughter of local program coordinator Susan Hargett, grew up watching her mother plan and direct the program each year, and she has continued to admire Hargett’s dedication to its success. “My mother’s passion is education – always has been,” Collum said. “She’s always invested in kids, and she can always see the potential in a kid that doesn’t see the potential in themselves.”

Of course, the year Collum competed, Hargett stepped down from the program.

Named Franklin County’s representative, Collum said she remembers her excitement about getting to miss a week of school, go to Montgomery and represent her home.

“That week at Montgomery – it’s an amazing week,” said Collum, recounting the way her host family took care of her every need and the way all the girls – despite being from different backgrounds and different parts of the state – came together and became friends. Collum said she and the other county winners were “wined and dined,” so to speak, and made to feel special.

“You feel valued. It made you feel important, and you are so proud to be there to represent your county,” she said. “It was just so much fun. It wasn’t the pressures of competition.”

Despite that overall takeaway, Collum did say the experience was a notable challenge – particularly the interview component.

“The interview I had that week was the hardest interview I had ever been through in my life,” she said. “After that, I was prepared for anything that came my way.” Collum said like many high school students, she wasn’t knowledgeable about current politicians or hot button news topics – the very things she was quizzed on at state. “It made me realize it was time – that I needed to grow up and follow things

like that and have an opinion and be able to voice my opinion.”

At the University of North Alabama, Collum was named Miss UNA 1998. She majored in communications, a degree that ultimately led her to her current role in pharmaceutical sales.

“I have always loved marketing and PR,” explained Collum. “I wanted to work for a marketing firm, but there aren’t a lot of those in the Florence area.” In high school she had found it an easy task to sell ads for the yearbook or get sponsors for a program; she was an active member of most clubs and groups, and she also cheered, played basketball, ran track and was in the senior play, so there was always a need for a sponsor for something. She said she realized she could put that natural talent into selling products. After a brief stint with a telecommunications company, and at her husband’s encouragement, she gave pharmaceutical sales a try in 2000 – and found her niche.

She and husband Jon live in Muscle Shoals and have three children: Saylor, 18, Kate, 15, and Caston, 10. Their activities and interests are the main way Collum spends time outside of work; her daughters have been involved in dance and cheer, and all three of her children play sports. “I’m perfectly happy. It couldn’t get any better.”

Of DYW, Collum gets a bird’s-eye view of the local program each year – through her mother’s continued passion for it.

“Every year this week comes up, I just watch her. She cares so much about it, and she puts so much into it,” Collum said. “It is a great program. I would love to see more girls do it. Everyone should go through a program like that and come out with more self-esteem than when they went into it.”

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1995 – HEATHERLY (ERGLE) HYCHE

eatherly (Ergle) Hyche was always involved in pageants growing up, so Junior Miss was a natural extension of that for the Phil Campbell High School alum.

“The best memory I have is just being able to meet so many different girls whose backgrounds were so different. Even though we were different, we all shared a common bond, and I made some of the best friends I had ever made doing that competition – especially the state competition,” said Hyche.

“We all bonded, and it was a lot of fun.”

For Hyche, the week in Montgomery was the longest she had been away from home and away from her parents, to that point in her life. She said it was an opportunity to branch out as a young woman from a very small town. “It just opened my eyes to new things – different cultures, different religions, different backgrounds.”

Hyche and her family live in Hoover now, but as a girl growing up in Phil Campbell, she was a Bobcat through and through. Daughter of Jackie and Randy Ergle, who still live in Phil Campbell, Hyche was – like most of her fellow Junior Misses and DYWs – quite active in high school, especially in cheerleading, which she did as child all the way through her senior year. She said she loved both football and basketball season of cheer, finding joy in “just being around the other girls and being able to be loud and scream and not get in trouble.” She was also active with First Baptist Church of Phil Campbell and involved in pretty much every school club.

After high school she spent two years at Northwest-Shoals Community College before completing her degree at The University of Alabama; Junior Miss scholarships came in handy, as Hyche worked and paid her own way through school.

She met her husband Adam at UA, where they both worked for the alumni association, and they married in 2006.

Majoring in international marketing and German, Hyche first had designs on taking a job with Mercendes Benz in Germany – but after interning at MBUSI, she realized sitting behind a desk just wasn’t for her. She tried her hand as a recruiter with Robert Half for a couple of years, but she soon found her niche in another field: pharmaceutical sales, where she has continued for the past 16 years.

Her new job took the couple to Orlando for 10 years, but Hyche said they decided to move back to Alabama when their daughter – who is now 11 – was 5 or 6, to be close to family again.

Hyche’s job keeps her traveling, visiting ophthalmologists and and optometrists across the state. “I drive all the time. I live in my car,” she joked. “I’m used to it. I love it.” She shares information about the newest drugs on the market, like products to help prevent blindness and treat chronic dry eye disease and glaucoma. “I absolutely love my job, day in and day out, because I’m an advocate for the patients … I’m very passionate about it,” she said.

For Junior Miss, Hyche wrote a song she played on the piano and sang – a jazzy number she titled “Easy Chair.” She said the fitness component was the one she enjoyed the most – “You’re just getting to dance around and jump around, and obviously I enjoyed that because I cheered,” – and she was bowled over by the eloquence of the other girls she met and competed with at state during the speaking portions.

“It definitely has made an impact on my life in many different ways,” she added – for one, just to be able she had participated in such a prestigious, challenging program. She also said it made her more aware and open to different life experiences “and the beauty in those differences – and, yet, how we always had something in common.”

Hyche said she most enjoys spending time with her family, whether that’s whiling away a long summer day in their backyard pool or traveling to visit family or their old friends in Orlando. “We do a lot of things with our church. My daughter is on the worship team, and we teach a financial class, so we spend a lot of time preparing for that,” she added.

Aside from some travel goals, Hyche said she doesn’t see any huge plans or changes in her future. “I want to do what I am doing for the rest of my life. I love it.”

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1996 – FELICIA (WALLACE) RUTLEDGE

aledictorian, cheerleader, Rural Health Scholar and member of the Math Team, Fellowship of Christian Athletes and the National Honor Society – as a student at Phil Campbell High School in the ’90s, Felicia (Wallace) Rutledge did it all. And yet, she wasn’t too sure at first about doing the Junior Miss program.

“I honestly did not know a lot about Junior Miss until a former winner, Heather Ergle, approached me about participating. I was never involved in beauty pageants, so I didn’t think this would be for me,” explained Rutledge. “That is everyone’s first impression of the program, but that is not what it is.”

Rutledge said what drew her in was the scholarship opportunities – “As the daughter of a minister, I knew attending college would only be affordable with the help of scholarships, student loans or grants,” – but what she gained was that and more, surrounded by other driven and successful young women.

Rutledge, who now lives in Huntsville, continued her

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education at The University of Alabama–Birmingham, attending on a full four-year academic scholarship. Although she said she first planned to enter the medical field, concerns about not being able to spend enough time with her future family drove her in a different direction; she earned her bachelor’s degree in accounting in 2001.

“Growing up, my family always had a lot of time together, and my parents were always available to attend games I was cheering for or any other event,” Rutledge said. It was a model she wanted to follow – and now does. She and husband Andy, who married in January 2003,

have “three beautiful children: Ava, 15, Jason, 13, and Matthew, 5.”

“My two oldest children attend Westminster Christian Academy and are involved in many different sports, such as volleyball, football, basketball and tennis. As you can imagine, this keeps us busy,” Rutledge noted. My sole goal in life right now is to raise my children and teach them to love God and to

never be afraid to pursue their dreams in life.”

Prior to marrying and moving to Huntsville, Rutledge worked a couple of years in Atlanta as a divisional controller with the same company she worked for in Birmingham during college. Since then, her career roles have included chief financial officer for Trilogy Pools and, her current role, CFO for F1 Solutions Inc., which provides IT solutions for businesses in north Alabama.

Outside of work and her children’s activities, Rutledge is also active in the family’s church, Westminster Presbyterian, where she has served as a member of the Women in the Church committee and teaches children’s Sunday School and Wednesday evening classes.

When Rutledge reflects back on her time in the Junior Miss

program, a unique challenge springs to mind – apart from the challenge of the program itself.

“I injured my back during practice for the physical fitness routine,” explained Rutledge.

“I was putting so much into the routine I just assumed my back was sore; what I did not realize was that I had popped a vertebrae out of place that was pinching a nerve.

“The week of the program, we practiced every day, and every day I would stop by the chiropractor for him to pop it back into place – only to have me pop it back out of place an hour later in practice.”

With all these memories and more, Rutledge said she would absolutely encourage today’s young women to participate.

“Plan to be surprised,” she said. “Surprised by fun you will have, surprised by the amount of friends you will make in the young women from other schools, surprised by the opportunities that will become available and surprised by the increase in confidence you will have.”

1997 – KITTY (ROGERS) BROWN

itty (Rogers) Brown and her husband Tucker are both attorneys – she in litigation and he in healthcare law – and they and their twin sons Richmond and Stephen, 11, live in Birmingham. Brown is Franklin County Junior Miss 1997.

“It focused on recognizing and rewarding things that were important to me,” – as opposed to focusing on the superficial, Brown explained. She said she was excited to get to represent her hometown, as growing up in Russellville shaped who she became, through the support of her church, First Baptist, and the community at large. “Russellville is a special place to have grown up.”

Brown has been a litigation attorney since graduating from The University of Alabama School of Law in 2005. Prior to that, she completed her Bachelor of Arts in history and Spanish at Samford University in 2001. Although she started out pre-med, Brown said internships and externships in her junior year of college made her realized the medical field was not her passion.

“I grew up around a lot of lawyers,” – including her father, Bob Rogers, of

Richmond Brown, Stephen Brown, Bob Rogers, Jama Rogers, Lily Rogers, Grace Rogers, Tyde Boyd, Kitty Brown, Tucker Brown, Brandi Rogers and Ike Rogers gather for a family photo.

Bedford, Rogers and Bowling. “I think I saw it as a way to use my skills – storytelling, putting together the pieces of an event or case to tell a story on behalf of the client – It’s a challenging way to work,” Brown said. “Law school was a natural next step for me.”

Brown said she met life-long, dear friends in law school. “We learned a lot about doing hard things together,” she said. It’s also where she met her husband, and they married in 2006. “He’s the

funniest person I know, and he makes me laugh every day, and he’s also the smartest person I’ve ever met – but we don’t tell him that,” she joked.

Though she enjoys practicing law, Brown said she would also love to teach someday – particularly to put her Spanish degree to good use. Just as she has her father as an example in the law field, mother Jama Rogers provides a role model in education: She was a history teacher at Russellville High School.

In high school Brown was a majorette and played French horn in symphonic band – which she put on display as her talent for Junior Miss, playing “Jesu Joy of Man’s Desiring” by Bach. She also played tennis in high school, and she said having those competing interests served her well, teaching her early in life how to balance her priorities and manage her time – valuable skills she carried forward into college and law school.

“I think the most challenging part at the state level was learning a substantial fitness presentation in a short amount of time,” said Brown, noting that although her experience as a majorette helped, the choreography was a challenge to quickly learn and commit to memory.

Brown’s supporters encouraged her by preparing letters and cards to send with her to state, which she opened throughout the week to lift her spirits. She said that encouragement was an invaluable part of her experience, and it’s support she continues to see in Russellville – especially around her nieces and nephew who live there.

“Even though life may take you away from Russellville,” she said. “there’s always a lot of hometown support.”

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1999 – ELISHABA (GRABEN) LARSON

s Russellville High School’s Elishaba (Graben) Larson approached graduation, she said she knew scholarships were going to be key to continuing her education. A good student and continual learner, Larson had started her early education at Belgreen before transferring to Russellville in the 10th grade. With parents who were both teachers, Larson was focused on her studies – and the draw of a full tuition scholarship to the University of North Alabama through the Junior Miss program was certainly enough to catch her eye.

“I want to do the best I can at anything I try to do,” said Larson, who is now the library media specialist, technology coordinator and technology instructional coach for Guntersville High School. That desire flows right in with the Junior Miss/DYW “be your best self ” motto.

So she competed at the local level and continued on to state as the Franklin County 1999 Junior Miss.

For her talent, Larson recorded herself singing a portion of “Un bel dì,” the aria from “Madame Butterfly;” on stage at the competition, she danced en pointe on stage to her own recorded, following that up by singing the rest of the piece.

“It was an opportunity to be creative,” said Larson. “It was really cool and fun, and looking back on it, what an opportunity that was.”

Opportunity is the name of the game when it comes to Junior Miss, and Larson said she also appreciated the opportunity to meet people, network and make new friends – friends like her host family for the week in Montgomery, with whom she is still in touch.

After high school Larson earned her bachelor’s degree in entertainment management from the University of North Alabama. It was later that she decided to embrace her love for young people and return to school to get

her business education degree at the University of North Alabama. Ever the scholar, Larson further pursued her master’s in business education from UNA and went back again for a master’s in library media from the University of West Alabama.

Larson’s husband Carl has a dental practice in Guntersvlle, and the couple has four children: Chase, 11, Anna, 10, Elsa, 5, and Clark, 3 – names derived from the family’s Swedish heritage. They also have a dog named Scout.

Larson said the biggest thing she took away from Junior Miss was self confidence. “I just have to be my best me. I can’t compete against somebody else,” she said. It’s something she would encourage any girl to do. “The process will help them become a better person.

They will learn the skills to interview, build their confidence and help them become their best self.”

As part of her career, Larson is working on national board certification.

She is a big advocate for the arts, through the Artists Responding To Students organization for Marshall County and by helping define ways classroom teachers can collaborate with teachers of the arts and incorporate the arts into their classes.

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2000 – LINDSAY (GERSTMAN) ALMOND

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t really gave me confidence I didn’t have as an insecure teenager.

That helped throughout the rest of my growing up and college career. Being on stage is scary, and having people stare at you is intimidating; being able to go through that helped everything else.”

Today Russellville High alumnus Lindsay (Gerstman) Almond is a pharmacist at CVS in Vestavia Hills. She and husband Brent have two children: Ava, 11, and Asher, 8. From the scholarships acquired to the confidence inspired, Almond said she can see how the Junior Miss program helped pave the path for the life she has now.

“I had always participated in the Miss RHS pageant and had a role model in Kitty Rogers at the time, who participated in Junior Miss as well,” explained Almond, who said she was convinced to give it a try after “seeing her go through it and the opportunities it afforded her with scholarships and friendships.”

It was a decision she didn’t regret. “It was a lot of fun,” said Almond, adding the program was particularly rewarding for the opportunity it provided for “getting to get outside your world and interacting with other people throughout different counties and getting to meet new girls from across the state.”

With a partial scholarship to the University of North Alabama, Almond followed in her pharmacist father’s footsteps – “He really encouraged me to look into it, as far as the flexibility that it offered. It was a good, stable career, and it was always going to be needed,” – and earned her degree from the pharmacy school at Auburn University.

After college Almond married and settled down in the Birmingham area with her attorney husband. She said working as a pharmacist has made it possible to have a fulfilling career balanced with a happy home life. She loves “helping people, whether it be through just filling their prescriptions

or counseling them on medications,” she said. “Sometimes just having a conversation with people makes such a difference, especially the elderly population.” Away from CVS she is “chaos coordinator” for her family of four, from camping trips in their travel trailer to mountain biking trips, her children’s sporting events and more.

She said she has picked up tennis and has recently re-embraced her love of piano – her talent at Junior Miss, as she performed “Tarantella” by Albert Pieczonka, and something she can bond over with her daughter, who is also learning to play. “It’s been fun to pick that back up.”

In high school Almond was active both at RHS as well as with her family at Russellville First Baptist. The daughter of Mickey and Susan Gerstman, who still live in Russellville, said she returns often with her family to visit the grandparents, and Russellville still holds a special place in her heart. “I greatly appreciate how I was brought up. The small town environment – you can’t beat it. You pretty much know everybody, and you have a chance to do all the things you want to do, as a kid,” she said. “It’s just home.”

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2001 – KATHRYN (KEETON) NIX

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2001 graduate of Russellville High School, Kathryn (Keeton) Nix’s success in Junior Miss led her to the University of North Alabama on a full scholarship, from which she graduated in 2005 with her bachelor’s degree in nursing.

“I just loved the idea of helping people and taking care of someone when they are at their most vulnerable,” Nix explained.

Following her graduation, Nix first worked two years in critical care at the since-closed Eliza Coffee Memorial Hospital. She followed that up with a year at Decatur General; her husband Ryan – who she met at UNA – had gotten his first teaching job in Hartselle.

“Then I applied to Samford, their nurse anesthesia program, and got accepted,” Nix said. “I started there in 2008.” She said completing that program had always been a part of her plans. “We had the ability in high school to job shadow through the HOSA program, and we shadowed an operating room, and that’s when I first learned about the nurse anesthetist role.

I was attracted to that.” In college she wound up shadowing her father-in-law while dating her now-husband.

Today Nix works at the Surgery Center

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of Decatur, which she has been since 2014.

Her career has also carried her to roles in Pensacola and again at Decatur. “I love my job,” she said. “I love what I do; I love taking care of patients.”

As a Golden Tiger, Nix was a majorette, a hobby she continued for two years at UNA. Her husband was on the drum line, and he is now the intermediate and junior high band director at Hartselle. The couple has two children: Griffin, 8, and Claire, 5.

As a family they enjoy hiking, with nearby favorite spots including Bankhead National Forest and Monte Sano State Park.

Junior Miss, Nix said, was a great experience. She enjoyed meeting all the other girls, especially state, and the scholarship money helped her achieve the degree that launched her career.

The interview process of the program was the part Nix said she found most challenging. “I think it’s really important to go through that interview process because from there you are going to have job interviews,” she noted. “The skills you will learn will last you a lifetime.” For her talent she played piano, a piece called “The Storm.”

“Definitely participate,” Nix recommended. “It was a great experience.”

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2003 – ANNA (DAVIS) CRAIG

s the 2003 Franklin County Junior Miss, Anna (Davis) Craig was carrying on a heritage of representing her home: in another program, her aunt and mother were both named “Miss Franklin County.”

As a student at Russellville, Craig was like many of her fellow Junior Misses – super involved, to a fault.

She was passionate about school spirit, making lifelong friendships on the cheer squad. She played softball, was the senior class treasurer, was part of the Homecoming Court and took part in most clubs on campus.

After high school, Craig spent a year at UNA before completing her degree at The University of Alabama, graduating in 2008. The RHS alum has since enjoyed a range of career roles, from working at the Huntsville Times and Cheney Brothers food distribution to serving as project manager for a construction company. Today she works with a worldwide pharmaceutical company, Pharmaceutical Product Development – a job she started in the middle of the pandemic.

Craig and husband Tyler married in 2018. “He was a yearbook sales rep, and one of my friends was a teacher at a school and introduced us,” she said. The couple has a daughter, Palmer, who is almost 4, and the family lives in Wilmington, North Carolina. Although she misses her family in Alabama and they come back to visit, “living at the beach is awesome,” Craig said. “I think I will be here forever.”

From her time in Junior Miss, Craig said she learned perseverance. She remembers her mother was proud and

father cried when she won the county competition. “It was a lot of fun to meet all the girls,” said Craig, noting she still keeps up with many of them on Facebook and is also still in touch with the host family she stayed with during the state competition.

She is the daughter of Tommy and Linda Davis.

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2004 – NICOLE (NIX) HENDERSON

“I

decided to enter because, I remember, there was scholarship money available. I knew I wanted to go to UNA, and they had a full scholarship opportunity if you won. I thought, ‘I’ll give that a shot. What do I have to lose?’”

What indeed. As Franklin County Junior Miss 2004, it turned out Henderson had nothing to lose; in fact, she won every category of the local competition. “I was shocked, to say the least,” she said. The achievement set the tone for her senior year at Russellville High School, knowing her college plans were solidified – and paid for. She went on to also place in the top four for talent and for self expression at the state-level competition.

As a volunteer with the Distinguished Young Woman program now, Henderson recounts her story as encouragement to present-day competitors. “All the girls that enter, I tell them: ‘One night of competing gave me four years of free college.’ You can’t beat that,” she pointed out. “It was very worth it.”

Although Henderson first planned a career in broadcast journalism, her grandmother’s influence changed her mind. Irene Nix taught at Phil Campbell for 25 years. “Seeing her, throughout

my life, being a teacher and visiting her classroom – I realized that was what I wanted to do: work around children and be with children,” she said. “Teaching was what I truly wanted to do.”

That vision became reality for Henderson after college, with teaching jobs in Greenville, Huntsville and Madison County. She next taught in the Russellville City Schools system, and in 2016 she began teaching at Tharptown Elementary. In 2021 she accepted a job as special education teacher at Muscle Shoals High.

She said she sees her involvement with DYW as an extension of her career in education – just one more classroom where she can encourage and shape young people.

“From the very first practice, Dr. (Susan) Hargett lets the girls know they are supported and that they are going to support each other. You’re there to form friendships and bonds,” Henderson noted.

“We just create an atmosphere of helping each other.”

During college Henderson went on to reign as Miss UNA 2006 and to compete for Miss Alabama. When she finished her education degree, she moved to south Alabama for a job for a few years. In 2010 she married husband Drew, who is an

occupational therapy assistant, and she returned to UNA for her master’s degree in special education, which she completed in 2012. She now serves on the UNA Alumni Board and is the Miss UNA Affinity Group co-director. “I love UNA. I really do. They have been good to me.”

She earned her educational specialist degree in special education from the University of West Alabama in 2016, and she is working on her educational leadership doctorate from Samford University – with plans to defend her dissertation in March and graduate with her degree in April. “I hope to teach at the collegiate level – that’s my goal, eventually – and work in student advocacy,” she said.

Henderson found her way back to DYW in 2014, when Hargett asked her to emcee the program. She then became part of the DYW board, and her involvement didn’t stop there. “Since then I’ve been the choreographer, and I’ve helped run the Facebook page and just really volunteered in any way I can – any way they need me,” she said. “I’m really passionate about this program. It really does make a difference in lives.”

See HENDERSON, Page 21

RUSSELLVILLE WATER AND SEWER BOARD

721 Jackson Avenue S.• Russellville, Alabama 35653

256-332-3850

Dan Terry – Chair Richard Tutich Joe Graham

Tim Smith Harold Mitchell Eric Hill, General Manager

Pride, dedication, determination and hard work produce Quality, Excellence and Progress.

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Henderson

Continued from page 20

She said she sees her continued support of DYW as a way to motivate and inspire the next generation. “I get to help them grow – to be their best selves – and encourage them,” she said. “For awhile, I was the one on stage and in the spotlight.

I had those who were encouraging me and supporting me, and I know how much that is needed when you are a teenage girl.”

Outside of her career and her DYW service, Henderson stays busy as mom to two boys: Sons Isaiah and Christian are 8 and 7, respectively. “Out of everything I have done in life, they are my best accomplishment,” Henderson said. The family is active in their church, Calvary Baptist of Tuscumbia.

I’m really passionate about this program. It really does make a difference in lives.

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2005 – ADDIE (PICKETT) HARBIN

ussellville’s Addie Pickett Harbin said she had attended the Junior Miss program for several years and always admired the participants – a stepping stone on the path to competing in the program herself and ultimately becoming Franklin County’s Junior Miss 2005.

“They were great role models for myself and others, and I knew I wanted a chance to be Franklin County’s DYW,” said Harbin, who owns and operates Addie Flip Tip and Tap studio in Russellville.

“I had so much fun the week of the local program; honestly, at the end of the night, I was just proud to be representing Franklin County as a contestant alongside many of my friends on stage before the actual winner was ever announced.”

Harbin, a Russellville High School alumnus, said she enjoyed her time as a Golden Tiger. “I have positive memories of my time spent in the halls and classrooms at RHS. I was a member of National Honor Society, RHS varsity head cheerleader, first alternate on the Homecoming Court and many other activities,” she said. “All of these opportunities taught me how to reach my full potential and how to be active in my community.”

After high school, Harbin started working at the Franklin County Chamber of Commerce while a full-time student at the University of North Alabama. “The scholarships I received definitely made an overall impact and allowed me to complete four years of college without paying tuition out of pocket,” Harbin noted. In 2006 she started AFTT, a dance, tumble and cheer studio in Russellville, and in 2009 she graduated from UNA with honors with her bachelor’s degree in elementary education. “I always knew I wanted a career involved with teaching children,” she said. “I’ve always had a passion for helping others and working with youth of all ages.”

The studio has given her a unique opportunity to encourage future DYW participants.

“I try to always influence high school girls to be Little Sisters in the program to see what DYW offers,” she said. “Every year I encourage upcoming seniors to participate.

“I will always continue to promote the program. If you prepare for the program in advance and enter with a positive mindset, you definitely have a great experience ahead of you.”

In addition to owning and teaching at her studio, Harbin is a third-grade teacher at Russellville Elementary. She and husband Aaron have two children: Ruby, 10, and Willis, 4.

“I enjoy spending time with my family, whether it be going to practices, games and competitions with my children or traveling,” she said. “In the summer we like to spend time at the lake, beach or swimming pool.”

When Harbin looks back on her Junior Miss experience, several memories come to mind, like her performance for the talent portion. Her love for dance began as

a child and provided her with her talent for the program. “I have always had a passion and love for dance, so getting to perform my tap dance on stage was always a highlight of the competition at the local and state levels,” said Harbin, who performed to the tune “Trickle, Trickle.”

During her interviews and selfexpression, “I felt was always positive, and it helped prepped me to interview for ‘real’ jobs in my future,” Harbin said.

One memory makes her laugh to this day.

“I had worn heels all day and practically all week, so during awards, I was on stage in flip flops,” she said. “Of course, they couldn’t be seen on stage due to the length of my dress, but when I was named Franklin County’s DYW wearing flip flops – that was definitely memorable.”

Harbin said to this day she enjoys “being involved with the program and giving back so others can have the same scholarship opportunities. Having the title of Franklin County’s Distinguished Young Woman has given me a platform to always be my best self and to help promote this balance in young ladies. It’s not about what others are doing; it’s about you just being you and being held accountable to always do the right thing.”

2006 – ALISON (BARKSDALE) MONTANARO

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lison Montanaro – then Barksdale – said she remembers Junior Miss being a central focus of her senior year at Russellville High School. As president of the National Honor Society, Golden Girl for RHS baseball, a majorette, No. 3 in her class academically and an active member of the North Highlands church of Christ youth group, Junior Miss was another natural outlet for the high achiever to stretch herself.

Like so many, she said she was attracted by the potential scholarship money and the opportunity to meet other young women; she enjoyed meeting her Colbert and Lauderdale peers. She said she still keeps in touch with many of the girls she met through Junior Miss, especially those who live in the Birmingham area, where she now resides with husband Tony, a civil engineer, and children Jackson, 3, and Alaina, 1.

Following high school, Montanaro continued her education at Auburn University. “I wanted to do something a little different. There weren’t any other girls in my high school class who were going to Auburn,” Montanaro explained. She said she saw it as a way to venture outside her comfort zone and spread her wings.

At Auburn Montanaro kept the active school life she had enjoyed at RHS. She worked with the University Program Council, planning events like concerts and open mic nights for her fellow students, and she was also editor of the Glomerata, the school yearbook. With a minor in business engineering technology, she had the unique

opportunity to work on a project with engineering students to enhance and create projects and formulate business plans for those projects, including developing an automatic tire reinflation system in collaboration with the University of Plymouth in England.

Her major, though, was accounting – her mother and grandfather were both accountants – and following her four years of undergraduate work, Montanaro dedicated another year to get her master’s of accountancy.

“The MAcc program at Auburn is really great,” said Montanaro, noting a 10-day international trip to Santiago, Chile, to learn about accounting in a different culture was a valuable part of her education. She also graduated with her CPA certification.

She began full time work in July 2011 – first at KPMG and then, five years later, at Dixon Hughes Goodman.

“Naturally, I think accounting just made sense to me,” she said. “I enjoy it. It definitely has peak seasons and peak times, but it allows you to have a lot of flexibility

and down time in non-peak seasons … I like numbers, and I like things that balance.”

Montanaro said in some ways she’s still figuring out her long-term career goals. “I think my goal is just to continue to move forward,” – whether that means to one day become a partner in a firm or to transition into a different role one day.

She is the daughter of Allen and Donna Barksdale.

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2007 – LYDIA (HAMMOCK) FREEMAN

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ed Bay’s Lydia (Hammock) Freeman said she grew up doing pageants and felt competing in Junior Miss would broaden her horizons. “I really wanted to compete for the scholarship aspect of it and to meet new people,” she said. “I thought I had a really good chance of doing well, and of course my mom and dad pushed me.”

The daughter of Beth and Richard Hammock, Freeman was a Tiger cheerleader and track team member.

She also played basketball and tennis in seventh and eighth grade. She was voted football queen her senior year as well as Miss RBHS, and she made Top 10 of her class. Her high school memories also include working at Tiffin Supply during the summers from age 16.

For Junior Miss, Freeman said she remembers it being a hefty responsibility, in terms of balancing her commitments and making time for all the practices and preparation needed.

“Overall it was totally worth it. I think I gained a lot,” Freeman said. “I would do it all over again.”

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Through her experience, she said she grew as a person and made so many new friends. She was shocked, excited and thankful to be selected as Franklin County’s Junior Miss 2007. “I just remember it being all worth the time, effort and dedication I put into it.”

After starting her higher education at Mississippi State University, Freeman continued to the University of Mississippi School of Nursing. “I thought I wanted to take care of babies. I’ve always loved caring for the kids growing up in church,” said Freeman, who attended first Belgreen church of Christ and then Eastside church of Christ.

After working a rotation on the pediatric floor, however, she changed her mind, choosing to forego pediatric nursing. Instead, she began her career on the med-surge floor at North Mississippi Medical Center.

By then she was married to husband A.J. Freeman, who had a coaching and teaching job in Tupelo, where the couple lived.

Med-surge, she said, was “an eyeopening experience.” She worked night shift, seven days on, seven days off, for two years. “I learned a lot being on med-surge, and I would never take that for granted,” said Freeman.

The patient load, however, was taxing, and eventually she needed a change. She now works in the Center for Digestive Health at North Mississippi Medical Center. “I work in the pre-op area and the recovery room and then also in the back during procedures, like colonoscopies and scope tests,” she explained. “I like that I’m not doing the same thing every day.”

In her off hours she also works PRN for Infinity Infusion Nursing, providing care in a patient’s home.

Husband A.J. has also shifted careers since early in their marriage, now owning an insulation business.

Son Bentley is 6, and son Breck is 3, and the family now lives in Mooreville, Miss., a small town between Fulton and Tupelo, where they love the school district and just built their forever home.

2008 – PAIGE (PALMER) THORNE

hen Red Bay’s Paige Palmer – now Thorne – served as a Little Sister for 2007 Junior Miss Lydia Hammock Freeman, it opened her eyes to the possibilities and the opportunities afforded by the competition.

“It really helped give so much insight into the program and what it had to offer,” said Thorne. “I also really loved my time being a part of it, so I decided to compete the next year.”

At Red Bay High School Thorne played tennis and was a cheerleader from seventh grade through her senior year. “I began taking dance and gymnastics at a young age, so cheering was my favorite extracurricular activity,” she said. “I was on a great squad with many close friends.

We were all dedicated and worked really hard together. Cheering also allowed me many opportunities to travel, from New York to Orlando and even Australia and Hawaii, cheering for a United States football team in the Down Under Bowl.”

Thorne said the most challenging part of the Junior Miss experience was competing in Montgomery. “On the local level I had friends and family to help with the preparation, but when you leave for state, you are staying with a new roommate in a new home, and we weren’t allowed to use our cellphones,” Thorne

noted. “I had not been away from my family for that long without being able to speak to them over the phone, so it was a brand-new experience, and it really helped me to become more independent.

“The letters and emails I received while I was away was one of the greatest gifts,” she added. “I am still thankful to those that took the time to send words of encouragement.”

Aside from making strong friendships with driven women from across the state, Thorne said the relationship she built with her house parents in Montgomery was one of the most memorable parts of the experience. “I was very blessed to have such a wonderful family to welcome me into their home,” she said. “It easily could’ve been overwhelming to be away from family and friends and living in a new house with new people, but my house parents could not have done a better job of making me feel at home.”

Thorne said she remembers Junior Miss as “the first time I truly learned to push myself and to not give up.”

“There were countless hours spent working and preparing. There were times it would have been easier to put it on hold and go hang out with friends, but I had to be dedicated and determined,” she said. “I also think the experience in

Montgomery is one of the first times I genuinely felt a sense of independence …

I learned I could do more on my own than I ever thought.”

Following her graduation from RBHS, Thorne attended the University of North Alabama and majored in biology.

“My husband Trenton and I were married in 2012. It was after we had our first daughter, Peyton, that I decided to go back to UNA and pursue a degree in nursing,” Thorne said. “I realized quickly how much I loved being a caretaker and a nurturer.”

She graduated with her bachelor’s degree in nursing from UNA in 2016 and worked as a surgical nurse, “but I now stay at home with our children.” The family lives in Tuscumbia and includes – in addition to oldest daughter Peyton – daughter Reese and son Lane.

“My husband and I both come from very close-knit families, so we try to spend as much time as possible with family,” Thorne said. “We also love spending time with friends and our church family.

We enjoy attending sporting events as a family. Our kids like to visit the Muscle Shoals library, and the girls are currently taking gymnastics.”

When her children are older, Thorne said she would like to return to nursing

and continue her nursing education. “A long-term goal for me would even be to go back to UNA and become a professor in their nursing program.”

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2009 – ANNE KATHRYN (ALLEN) OLSON

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We would be honored to assist you in prearranging your services or in your time of need.

Developing Future Leaders for a Better Tomorrow For more information call: 256-332-8880 Katerina W. Cole, County Extension Agent Coordinator Agent

, 4-

Program Education (EFNEP) Agent Assistant Shirley Jimenez -Ed) Agent Assistant Ida Robinson Tyler Thompson, Urban Regional Extension Agent, 4- H and Youth Development

nne Kathryn (Allen) Olson remembers her experience with Junior Miss as “a lot of work but worth it in every way.”

“My involvement in it has impacted who I am as a person. It helped me become prepared for life after high school in so many ways,” said Olson, a 2009 Russellville High School graduate. “I would highly recommend participating if you have the opportunity.”

As a high school student, Olson said she was on the introverted side and focused on her schoolwork. “I definitely became more sociable and involved as high school progressed, and I attribute a large part of that to being involved in programs like Distinguished Young Women, or Junior Miss as it was called then,” Olson said.

“I had been involved in my local high school pageant for several years before DYW, and I had thoroughly enjoyed it.

I also loved the idea of getting to meet other young women from surrounding counties as well as throughout the state.”

The opportunity to win scholarships was, of course, another big draw.

Following high school, Olson attended The University of Alabama from 20092013, where she majored in marketing, before progressing to dental school at UAB from 2013-2017. After four years living in Atlanta, she is now a general dentist in Memphis, Tenn.

“I decided I wanted to be a dentist when I was a member of Health Occupation Students of America in high school,” she noted. “We had the opportunity to shadow different health professions, and I was very intrigued by dentistry.”

Outside of her dental practice, Olson enjoys spending quality time with her husband, Joel; the two married in 2017.

“My hobbies include gardening, cooking, needlepoint and decorating. My husband and I love to spend time outdoors together and to travel,” Olson said. “We have been to many different states and countries together and are working on visiting more.”

When it comes to her involvement in Junior Miss, Olson said she remembers her favorite part as “going to state and meeting people from all over the state.”

“Going to Montgomery for 10 days was so much fun but was also one of the most challenging parts,” she said, recalling – as do many of her fellow DYW/Junior Misses – the impact of not being able to

call friends or family during their time at state. “This made us rely heavily on our host families, each other and ourselves.

It was quite the reunion seeing everyone after state was over!”

Olson said DYW and other programs like it “definitely made me more outgoing, well-spoken and helped me mature. I learned so much that helped me in the future, including how to handle interviews, how to interact with all types of people and how to appreciate being out of my comfort zone. It also allowed me to become more extroverted and comfortable in my skin.”

“I am very happy with where I have ended up,” Olson added. “I would love to keep traveling and living life to the fullest.”

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s the “last Junior Miss” for Franklin County – before the program rebranded at Distinguished Young Women – Russellville High School’s Dr. Emma McDowell remembers her experience as McDowell said she “was involved in everything in high school.” She was the majorette captain and played French horn in the concert band and trumpet in the jazz band. She was the show choir president, class president, year book editor-in-chief – roles she loved but “I definitely felt the burnout by the time I got to college.”

McDowell earned her Bachelor of Science in psychology with a minor in liberal arts at The University of Alabama, where she took part in Phi Mu, and she earned her doctorate in osteopathic medicine from VCOM-Auburn – a tribute to her “divided household” heritage. “My mom was a Crimsonette at Alabama, and my dad and his entire family and my older siblings went to Auburn,” McDowell said.

“They always say we’re the product of a mixed marriage, when it comes to football stuff.”

She applied to VCOM particularly in honor of her paternal grandparents, who had passed away; they were huge Auburn

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hen Franklin County Distinguished Young Woman 2012 Mariah Horton thinks back on her involvement, its overall impact is straightforward and monumental: “The DYW program helped lay the foundation for success for my upcoming college years and my career.”

Horton, a Red Bay High School graduate, is now practicing as an occupational therapist in the home health setting. She and her husband Brad – who got married in 2020 amidst the throes of the COVID-19 pandemic – live in Corinth, Mississippi.

In high school Horton said she was active in many sports, clubs and activities.

“I played basketball and softball and ran track. I was a member of the FFA, where I held various leadership roles, FBLA, Beta Club, English Club, Spanish Club, Science Club, FCCLA, Leo Club and Homecoming Float Committee,” said Horton, whose FFA involvement led to the opportunity to sing at the National FFA Convention in Indianapolis at Lucas Oil Stadium. “My friends and I spent our Friday nights at our high school football games, which became the highlight of

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2010 – EMMA MCDOWELL

fans, and her grandmother’s uncle even had a building on campus named after him – Duncan Hall.

Between her undergrad and VCOM years, McDowell also took some classes at the University of North Alabama to further prepare for applying to medical school. She then took the MCAT as well as the LSAT and GRE – exams to qualify for medical school, law school and other graduate programs – the latter two to make sure she had a back-up plan. She medical school was always her plan.

“I’ve always wanted to help the

community, and I thought that was the best way to do it,” McDowell said. She was inspired by the medical practice of Dr. Keith Morrow in Hackleburg, who she job shadowed in the wake of the 2011 tornados – in a makeshift clinic in the back of an 18-wheeler.

“People were crying when they saw him because both his clinics were destroyed, and they thought he was in there,” McDowell said. “They thought he had died, so they were weeping, trying to see him …

That’s exactly the kind of person I want to be for the community.”

In her third year of medical school McDowell began clinical rotations, getting her hours at Keller. “I lived at home. That was really nice.”

She graduated from VCOM in May 2020 and next began pursuing her master’s degree in population health science online from Alabama, becoming more fully educated on the policies and politics behind the American healthcare system. She next began her three-year residency program at North Mississippi Medical Center in Tupelo in family medicine in summer 2021.

Following her residency McDowell said she hopes to one day work in existing medical clinic in the area, maybe in the

Shoals. She said she also hopes to be involved with health policymaking at the state level. “I think doing this master’s program has really opened my eyes to all the flaws in the healthcare system,” she said.

In McDowell’s year for Junior Miss, she found herself in a unique scenario: she was the only participant in the local competition from Franklin County.

“I don’t know why people didn’t,” McDowell said. “The year before and the year after, there were several others.”

While it took the pressure off – “I had a blast. I would help the other girls from Lauderdale and Colbert with their makeup and hair” – McDowell said she still gave the competition her best effort. “I still worked really hard on my talent and everything.”

McDowell said, surrounded by her fellow Junior Misses at state, she felt she was among her peers. “Several of the girls ended up going to Alabama, so I had a little group of friends,” McDowell said. “One ended up being in the same pledge class as me at Phi Mu.” “I had a great time.”

McDowell is the daughter of Danny and Paula McDowell, local attorney and local district judge, respectively.

2012 – MARIAH HORTON

our weekends.”

Horton said she was most attracted to the DYW program for the scholarship potential, as well as to develop new friendships and networking opportunities.

“When I entered the program, I was most anxious and challenged by the opening number and Self Expression categories because I had no background of dance,” Horton noted. “However, these

categories of the program taught me to rise to the challenge, and the opening number became my favorite part of the production. There was so much excitement and anticipation with the curtain opening, spotlights shining and energy in the crowd. It set the tone for the rest of the evening.”

Like many of her fellow DYW winners and participants, Horton said she found special satisfaction in the talent component of the evening. “I still remember the feeling of singing in front of that crowd and the enjoyment of watching my friends alongside me in DYW perform their talents,” said Horton, who, for her own part, sang Whitney Houston’s “I Will Always Love You.” With the scholarship money from DYW, Horton attended the University of North Alabama, graduating in 2016 with her bachelor’s degree in health, physical education and recreation, with a concentration in exercise science. “While in my undergraduate studies, I shadowed occupational therapy in a variety of settings and became very passionate about the profession,” said Horton. “I decided to further my education and

attended graduate school at Belmont University in Nashville, Tennessee, where I graduated in 2019 with a doctorate degree in occupational therapy.

Outside of work, Horton said she and her husband and love to travel and spend time with their families. “Outside of my primary career, I also enjoy travel planning for destinations including Disney, Universal Studios and Sandals/ Beaches,” said Horton. For her future, “my husband and I plan to start a family and continue with our travels. I plan to further myself in my career and continue working my dream job.”

Distinguished Young Women, Horton said, was “an unforgettable experience.”

“I am forever grateful to have been involved with the DYW program and to have had the honor of being Franklin County’s Distinguished Young Woman 2012,” she said. “I would encourage anyone to step out of their comfort zone and be a part of this wonderful program.

Not only was it a fun experience, but it also taught me more about myself and prepared me for my future. DYW was a significant stepping stone to where I am today.”

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2013 – MAGGIE COAN

Russellville High School alumnus, Maggie Coan said she was attracted to the Distinguished Young Women competition based on her cousin’s experience – Addie (Pickett) Harbin was the 2005 county Junior Miss winner.

“It was really rewarding on the local and the state level.

I got to meet a lot of really good girls,” said Coan. Some of them she had already connected with at Girls State. “We got really close.”

Today Coan is an attorney at Chenault Hammond in Decatur, after earning her bachelor’s degree in political science – with a minor in legal studies – from the University of North Alabama in 2017 and her law degree from the Cumberland School of Law at Samford University in 2020. She said when she first started college, she planned to go to medical school, but doing secretarial work at a law office in Colbert County opened her eyes to the profession and changed her mind.

In her role at the Decatur general practice firm, she deals in family law, such as divorce or custody issues, as well as probate law, injury defense and personal injury.

“I’m a people person. I always have been,” said Coan, noting what she loves most about her job is interacting with people both in her office and in the courtroom.

Her experience in the competition came with a little pressure attached – having Harbin to live up to – but she had a lot of support from her family and was “humbled and thankful to have the opportunity to meet wonderful women” who inspired her – women she knows she can depend on even now.

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“If I need help with something, I always know a DYW I competed with who can help me,” she said. “The older we get, it’s crazy to see what some of the girls have done with their lives. It really is amazing.”

At Russellville Coan was Student Council president, a Tigerette all four years, competed in Miss RHS two years and was in FBLA and the Homecoming Court. She was a dance teacher at Addie’s Flip, Tip and Tap – performing a tap dance to “Sweet Home Alabama” for her DYW talent – and she continued teaching throughout her undergraduate years.

Coan said she is happy to be continuing to live in Russellville and serving the the Morgan, Franklin and Madison areas. “Franklin County and the north Alabama area have given a lot to me,” she said. Since she still lives in the area, she embraces the opportunity to help with DYW

each year, whether it’s encouraging an AFTT girl who plans to participate or getting involved in some other capacity.

“What I like helping with is the interview process,” she added. “Not a lot of girls in high school get the opportunity to practice those skills, and they’re really important. It’s intimidating until you’ve done it a couple times.” She said she likes helping girls “get comfortable in their own skin.”

Coan is the daughter of RHS teacher Cindy Coan and RMS school resource officer Reece Coan.

2014 – JULIE (MASTERSON) RUSS

oday Julie (Masterson) Russ is a wife and mother with twin girls on the way. In 2014 she was a senior at Russellville High School and Franklin County’s Distinguished Young Woman.

“Maggie Coan (Franklin County DYW 2013) asked me to be her Little Sister, and that was my main introduction to the program,” explained Russ. “I loved it so much I wanted to do it myself the next year. I loved meeting all the different girls from not only Franklin County but Colbert and Lauderdale as well. I made a ton of friends and had so much fun learning the dances and being around the girls that week.”

The daughter of Jeff and Leah Masterson, Russ sang “Aint’ Misbehavin” for her talent. “I did show choir throughout middle school and high school and the elementary school choir. Singing was always my go-to talent when I did pageants, like Miss RHS.” She also remembers her on-stage self-expression question and how nervous she was, and winning first place in the fitness portion, but her strongest memories are of the relationships she built through the experience – particularly at state.

“You’re kind of thrown into this crazy situation of living with a host family, she said. “Everyone is kind of unsure, so you bond together to get through that week. We formed a lot of friendships, and I’m still friends – both through the local program and the state level – with all the girls I’ve met, on Facebook and Instagram, and a few that were from south Alabama came to UNA, so I’ll see them out in Florence sometimes, and we’ll hug and catch up.”

It’s a great way to get involved in a positive organization that represents Alabama women in a positive way.

She said her younger sister Jill was a big support during both programs, “just helping me prepare, practice my song and practice my interview questions. She’s just the best.”

Russ’ other school activities included cheer as well as student council. After RHS she went to Mississippi State University, graduating in 2018 with her bachelor’s degree in communication, with a double concentration in public relations and journalism.

She married her high school sweetheart, Matthew, in March 2019. He attended the University of Mississippi School of Law, and when he graduated, the couple moved to Huntsville, where she works as an admissions counselor at The University of Alabama–Huntsville and he has a position at a law firm. The couple is expecting twin girls in July 2022.

Russ is continuing her education, working on earning her master’s degree in professional communication from UAH.

“I’d love to stay there and use my master’s in some way once I have graduated.”

For future potential DYW competitors, Russ has the following advice: “Totally do it.”

“Even if you’re kind of nervous of being on stage, and if it’s not in your comfort zone, all the better,” said Russ.

“It’s a great way to make connections at the local level and then, if you go on, to the state level as well. It’s also just a great network of women – a support system. It’s a great way to get involved in a positive organization that represents Alabama women in a positive way.

“I would encourage anyone to participate.”

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2015 – ANNA CATHERINE SMITH

UNA is proud to offer scholarships to Distinguished Young Women and to celebrate 150 years of admitting women.

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aking part in the Miss RHS pageant led Anna Catherine Smith to try her hand at the Distinguished Young Women program.

A 2015 graduate from Russellville High School, Smith was drum major of the Marching Hundred her senior year, following several years of being on the drum line. She also served on the student council and was in pretty much all the clubs, and she took part in scholars bowl and the Chamber’s Junior Leadership program. “I had my hands in everything.

I was always bored, so I wanted to do everything I could,” said Smith. The youngest of seven, Smith said she felt she had a lot to live up to, and she wanted to prove herself. She also tried cheer, robotics and rocketry – and basketball, but “I was awful at it.”

DYW alum Maggie Coan and her mother Cindy Coan encouraged Smith to try the DYW program following her Miss RHS participation. Smith said what she liked about DYW was there was “no one set standard type of person they are looking for. I was very scared going into that I would be the oddball out, but there were all kinds of women there.”

The Homecoming Queen, daughter of Mike and Stephanie Mayfield and Tim and Debbie Smith, said she has always benefited from being very comfortable in herself. “I was never shy about what I liked,” she said. “My parents raised me to be who I am, so I always was that, and I think people connected with that on some level. It gave me an opportunity to reach out to a lot of people – because people felt comfortable.”

The scholarship money, of course, was also one of DYW’s draws. “I knew I wanted to pursue a degree in engineering at Auburn, so I needed the scholarship money,” Smith said. Her parents had encouraged her to go wherever she wanted for college – but also encouraged her to find a way to pay for it herself.

A delegate to Girls State and an Alabama Governor’s School attendee, Smith continued to reconnect with the same driven young women across the state.

From the DYW program, Smith said she most enjoyed the self-expression portion – “It gave me a chance to practice communicating my ideas in a way that would make sense to a wide audience, which is super important in today’s

Florence, AL 35632 (256) 765-4100 //una.edu/admissions

society, I think – and talent portion. For her talent, she performed a four-mallet marimba solo. “I think people enjoyed getting to see a musical talent that was a little off the beaten path, and I enjoyed playing it.”

Today, Smith works at NCR Corporation in Atlanta, hiring on there after earning her degree in industrial and systems engineering at Auburn University.

Once upon a time, being an engineer was her big goal, but she said Auburn opened her vision to even bigger dreams.

She decided to reach for the stars – literally. She has ambitions of returning to school to get her master’s degree in aerospace engineering and work for NASA – maybe even become an astronaut.

“I went to space camp when I was 11, and it was my favorite thing ever,” she said.

“I absolutely fell in love. I’ve always been obsessed with space.” She said it speaks to her explorer’s heart.

“People always look at me incredulously when I say I want to be an astronaut,” Smith said. “It’s a challenge – but it’s the biggest one. It’s the biggest one out there” – a challenge she can’t help but want to take on.

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2016 – HOLLY HARDIN

“I

absolutely loved it. I met so many friends – dozens and dozens of girls I still talk to now.” That’s how Red Bay’s Holly Hardin remembers the Distinguished Young Women program.

Hardin’s mom competed in DYW when she was in high school, and “it was really her encouragement” that pushed Hardin to follow in her mother’s footsteps. The daughter of Lori and Todd Hardin, the 2016 RBHS alum said she got very close to the other girls in her DYW year. “We still have a group chat, so when people get married or have babies, they post in there,” Hardin said. “It really is a sisterhood.”

After high school, Hardin went to the University of North Alabama, first majoring in pre-med. After two years, however, she changed her major to food and nutrition and transferred to The University of Alabama.

When the coronavirus pandemic struck, Hardin returned home, and she said she began to once again reconsider her career path.

She is now an elementary education major at the Mississippi University for Women, and it’s a path in which she feels

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quite confident. “I absolutely love it. I’ll be a third-generation teacher, so I guess it’s

always been in my blood,” said Hardin.

She initially resisted an education major because she wanted to do something different, but “I should have done it right off the bat.”

Thanks to COVID, Hardin found herself taking classes at The W online.

Despite all the horrors of the pandemic, Hardin said the upside was a valuable opportunity return home and slow down for a bit. When she finishes her degree, targeted for this semester, Hardin said she hopes to teach in the area, perhaps in Florence – although with all the transitions she has gone through, she has learned not to plan too much but instead to live in the moment.

“I really like just being with the children and getting to help them through – not just learning academically but growing the social interaction and learning who they are as people,” said Hardin. “I didn’t realize how much impact you have on the whole life of the student, and I really like that.”

During her years at Red Bay High School, Hardin’s main focus was basketball. She was part of the 2A state championship team her junior year. She

was also in the Spanish Club, English Club, Math Club and Science Club, and she ran track and field. She was also active in HOSA, including serving as a national officer her senior year and into her freshman year of college – but she said she just didn’t feel a passion when thinking about med school.

“I’m so happy with where I’m at now, so I feel like education is where I’ll stay,” Hardin said. “I plan on getting my master’s in administration, so the dream goal is to be in administration at some point – elementary principal, right now, is where my goals are.”

When she reflects back on her time as DYW, Hardin said she can’t help but think about how helpful it has been to have connections with other women across the state. “With any aspect of your life, connections are key,” she said. “It was so easy to say, ‘Hey, I’m interested in this field’ and one of my friends be like, ‘Hey, I know someone who does that. I can give you their number.’”

“I wish more girls would do Distinguished Young Women. You can only benefit from it, and the scholarship money is just a bonus.”

2018 – ALISON HOPE (BRYANT) EVANS

ussellville High School Class of 2018’s Alison Hope Evans – then Bryant – is in the final stages of preparing for her career in elementary education. She is slated to graduate from the University of North Alabama this spring.

“I have always loved children,” said Evans. “I really wanted to be able to be around kids and teach kids because it’s awesome to watch them grow and learn new things.” She said she’s looking forward to spreading her wings and will embrace a teaching opportunity anywhere – but would especially love a fourth-grade classroom. “They are just the sweetest human beings,” she said. “They are in that nice middle stage where they love going to school and learning new things, and it’s just fun to be around them.”

Evans and her husband Nate got married in 2020 – a challenging COVID-19 wedding, fraught with socially-distanced seating and masks. “It was a struggle, but in the end it turned out really good,” said Evans. Their wedding was officiated by her youth pastor, Patrick Horner, who introduced the two. They first began dating in 2017; now, her Marine Corps husband is stationed in Hawaii, where

Evans will join him after graduation.

The musically-inclined RHS grad was involved in the Marching Hundred all four years of high school as a member of the color guard – an interest she has been able to continue in college as a member of the UNA Color Guard. “I love the RHS band program. Being a part of the band program is really what helped me make friends my freshman year,” said Evans, who also found her niche in high school in groups including the FBLA, Christian Students United at the National Honor Society. Her college experience, she said, has been “absolutely amazing.” “I have made so many new friends and learned so much.”

When it comes to Distinguished Young Women, Evans found her way to the program through participating as a Little Sister in the years leading up to her chance to compete in the main event. “The actual participants are your mentor for the week,” noted Evans, who participated as a Little Sister for two years. She said it was a good way to get an inside look at how it all works, enjoying a small taste by doing a dance during the evening with fellow Little Sisters and introducing her

“big sister’s” talent.

For her own talent, Evans leveraged her color guard experience to perform a rifle and flag routine – something a little outside the box. “It was one of the first times they’d had a rifle and flag routine at state,” she said. For the local competition, she said she particularly enjoyed – and benefited from – the interview component. “I love to talk, and that was something I knew was going to help me in the future, and I know that helped me enjoy it even more,” said Evans, who later had complete confidence interviewing to be accepted into the teaching program at UNA – confidence she credits, at least in part, to her DYW participation.

“It is very much worth the time and effort you have to put in,” she said. “It holds a special place in my heart … It’s really inspiring to see all the girls getting to do things they love and speak out things

they love.” Among the many friends she made, Evans said three of them – her counterpart DYW winners of Colbert and Lauderdale counties, in fact – are all in the education program together at UNA. Evans said she enjoyed returning to help with DYW the following year and hopes to continue to return in the years to come, helping to ensure DYW’s future.

“It’s an amazing program to grow in and be part of.”

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self-proclaimed “social butterfly,” Elizabeth Pierce said she “loved every second” of competing in Distinguished Young Women.

A Russellville High School alumnus, Pierce was active at RHS – as dance line captain, musical theatre student and percussionist. “I enjoyed being involved as much as possible,” she said.

When it came to DYW, Pierce got her “foot in the door,” so to speak, as a Little Sister the year prior. “I just saw how close a lot of the girls got, and it looked really fun,” said Pierce. From her own DYW program, Pierce said some of her fellow participants are still some of her closest friends.

Currently enrolled at the University of North Alabama, Pierce is majoring in secondary education. She will finish her undergraduate in December 2022, with plans to pursue her master’s degree in school counseling at Ole Miss starting August 2023.

“Education is a calling for me,” said Pierce. “Not a lot of people want to be teachers because they are underpaid and under appreciated, but there are so many kids who just need someone to advocate for them and be there for them.”

DYW, Pierce said, “brought me a lot of friendships and opportunities I wouldn’t have had if I hadn’t participated in the program.” She said she was “really excited” to win the Franklin County title. “I just felt this sense of pride, but it also humbled me to know I’m not just representing my school or just Russellville but the whole county.”

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I just felt this sense of pride, but it also humbled me to know I’m not just representing my school or just Russellville but the whole county.

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oday, Red Bay’s Bailey Bolton is a student at Itawamba Community College in Fulton, Miss. After graduation – slated for May 2022 – she has plans to transfer to Mississippi State University to major in elementary education.

“I have had the best experience and made so many great friends at ICC,” said Bolton, who was salutatorian of the Red Bay High School Class of 2020. “It really is the best community college in Mississippi, and I’m so thankful for it. I cannot wait for new experiences and friendships when I transfer to state this fall.”

During high school, Bolton said she was active in multiple sports and clubs, dedicating most of her time to varsity cheer, in which she was cheer captain, and to the FFA String Band. “I absolutely loved doing both of those things and would go back to high school one more time just to cheer a Friday night game or perform with my best friends on the stage,” she said.

When it came to Distinguished Young Women, Bolton found herself signing up at the encouragement of family friend Beth Hammock. “I also knew of many girls before me that enjoyed DYW and learned so

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ising to her distinguished capacity at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic meant Distinguished Young Women was very different for Russellville’s Lily Pounders and her fellow participants, compared to most years.

While the Northwest Alabama program was held in person – albeit with reduced attendance and at a different location – the state competition was held virtually.

Despite the pandemic-restricted programming, Pounders said DYW was an amazing experience.

“I would definitely say, no matter what, whether you feel like you’re unqualified or you’ve never done anything like it, you should do it,” said Pounders, daughter of Paula and Jeff Pounders. “You’re going to build amazing friendships, first and foremost; I would say that’s probably one of the best things that comes from it. And you’re going to become more confident in yourself, whether you win or lose.

“Be willing to get out of your comfort zone and try something new – because after high school, you’re going to be doing a whole lot of getting out of your comfort zone, so you might as well start practicing now.”

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2020 – BAILEY BOLTON much from their experience,” Bolton added.

Like so many of her fellow Junior Misses and Distinguished Young Women, Bolton said she fondly remembers her time representing Franklin County at state as “the most challenging, most rewarding and best experience ever.”

“The girls were all so genuine and encouraging, and I honestly never wanted to leave,” Bolton said. “I was challenged so much that week and left feeling so proud of myself.” It was an experience Bolton remembers as being bookended with tears – for very different reasons. “I remember on the way there I was so nervous and honestly crying because I was afraid I wasn’t good enough or wouldn’t be liked by the other girls,” she said. “That was far from the case.

I was crying when I had to leave because I knew how much I would miss these girls. I can’t even describe the love I have for this program.”

She is a familiar face in Red Bay, where she works part time at Community Spirit Bank when she’s not in class at ICC. “It is a blessing to work with my family, who daily points me to Christ and loves me so well,” said Bolton, whose father, Brad Bolton, is CSB president and CEO. Her sister Brooklyn

works there as well.

Outside of her work and her studies, Bolton said she enjoys traveling and playing guitar any chance she gets. At DYW she played guitar and sang Dolly Parton’s “Jolene,” and she said she also loves singing in church.

After college, Bolton said she is looking forward to having her own classroom and getting to teach little ones. “I cannot wait to bless and teach them, and I know they will bless and teach me so many things in return.” Her future plans also including meeting and marrying “the man God has picked out for me” and starting a family “with a lot of kids and a lot of dogs.”

Ultimately, Bolton said DYW impacted her the most through the other young women she met and the memories they made together. “We challenged, encouraged, loved and learned from each other so well,” said Bolton, who called DYW the “best

experience of my life.” “We all had so much in common, and it is still so cool keeping up with each other on social media.”

She said she encourages every high school girl to participate in DYW. “It is a chance of a lifetime, and you will not regret it,” she said. “The friendships I made and the experience of a lifetime was worth so much” – worth even more, in fact, than the scholarships she received. “I will forever be thankful for this program, all who encouraged me and love me every day, the amazing women who put this program together every year and to my God for his abundant blessings daily.”

Bolton is the daughter of Brad and Julie Bolton.

2021 – LILY POUNDERS The RHS 2021 valedictorian said participating in DYW wasn’t an instant decision for her, but with the encouragement and support of friends and family, she decided to take the leap.

“Mrs. Colagross (a teacher at RHS) choreographed my dance for me, and lots of people encouraged me. My mother helped me practice for my interview,” Pounders said.

In addition to cheer, in which Pounders participated from sixth grade through senior year, she was also involved in a number of other activities, including tennis, the National Honors Society and the Future Health Professionals Club – the latter two of which she served as president – as well as making the ACT 30+ Club and second alternate on the Homecoming Court.

After high school Pounders chose to continue her education at Auburn University, where she is now finishing her freshman year, majoring in biomedical sciences–pre-med. “I’ve always been an Auburn fan; the school is amazing and the campus is beautiful,” said Pounders, whose sister Gracie is also at AU.

Pounders said she has plans to continue to medical school or optometry school following her bachelor’s program. Job shadowing and interning at Russellville Hospital, Mission Medical and Campbell Vision Center during high school helped solidify her interest in a career in the medical field. “I just love taking care of other people,” she said. “I want to make sure I can use whatever abilities I have to help others with whatever they are struggling with.”

Pounders said her interest in the medical field was also sparked by a car accident her father had when she was in second grade. She remembers the phone call and her mother crying. “I just remember wishing I could do something to help. I just felt so helpless,” she said.

“You see people who have a hard life and struggles, and I just want to be able to improve their lives somehow, some way, and let them know there is hope in this world.”

Among Pounders’ future goals include her heart’s desire to go on a mission trip.

Haiti would be her destination of choice.

She’s hoping she’ll have the opportunity

one day with Calvary Baptist, where her family attends.

“I just want to use my life for a purpose – something bigger than I am.”

During the course of the DYW competition, Pounders said winning barely entered her mind. She was shocked and thankful to be named Franklin’s DYW. “When you get there, everybody is so kind and supportive, you’re not even worried about ‘Am I going to win?’ or not,” she said.

“You’re just having a good time … I started feeling really comfortable and stopped worrying about what the results would be.”

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his year’s Franklin County Distinguished Young Woman is Russellville High School’s Madeline Cooper.

Cooper went to the state competition in January after winning the local competition in August 2022. She said DYW has “done nothing but uplift me and make me want to do the same to other young women.”

“Distinguished Young Woman has impacted me in countless ways I could have never imagined,” said Cooper, daughter of Greta and Matt Cooper.

“This program has given me so much confidence in myself and my ability to do things that are out of my comfort zone.

“I have come out of DYW with so many life lessons,” she added. “I’ve never cared for a program so much in my entire life.

I can confidently say that Distinguished Young Woman has changed me for the better – and changed me forever.”

There’s a ringing endorsement, if ever there was one.

At Russellville High School, Cooper has been involved in the gamut: varsity cheer, performing arts, varsity tennis, Student Council, Annual Staff, Christian Students United, FBLA, FCCLA, National Honor Society, Mu Alpha Theta, Key Club, Library Club, Chemistry Club, Spanish Club and the ACT 30+ Club. “I am very outgoing, I enjoy performing, and I always strive to be a good leader,” said Cooper, who serves as the varsity cheer chaplain and the Student Council president. This year she competed in the Walter Trumbauer district and state competitions for theatre, scoring superiors at both. She said she also spends a large majority of her time at Tharptown Baptist Church, where she loves singing in the Student Praise Band every Wednesday night.

Cooper said she first became interested in DYW when she was asked

by Lauren Mae Sturdivant to be a “Little Sister” in the 2020 program. “Sadly, the Little Sisters were not able to perform in 2020 due to COVID-19,” Cooper said.

“Even though I was not able to be a part of DYW that year, my interest was sparked.” With a little bit of research into the requirements and the rewards, Cooper was sold. “I have always had the goal to pay for my own college through scholarships, and I love performing and being on stage, so I knew DYW was right for me.”

The RHS senior said her favorite part of the program was “making so

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2022 – MADELINE COOPER many friends from different schools and counties. I loved meeting all of the contestants and learning all about them.”

“My DYW friends have been some of the most supportive girls ever, and we all just lifted each other up,” Cooper added.

“Nothing about the program even feels like a competition because we have so much fun being together.”

At the local competition, Cooper said waiting together for their individual interviews was one of the most fun parts.

“All of the girls stayed in the lobby of Norton Auditorium all day, and we would leave one by one for our interviews. We had so much fun talking and laughing that we forgot all about the nerves of the interview process. When I went into my interview, I was so at ease.

“I also really enjoyed the interview process,” Cooper added, noting the girls got the opportunity to meet the judges that morning over breakfast. During the interview later that day, “they asked me about traveling and about my family and personality, but they also asked me what two women I would add to Mount Rushmore and why,” she said. “The range of questions was difficult, but I had confidence in myself and showed them who I really was.”

She said the most challenging portion of the program was self-expression. And yet, “when I reached the microphone, all nerves were lost. Everything about the process was just so fun, when I got up there, I said my piece with a smile and walked away.”

As her high school graduation approaches, Cooper is looking to the future. She said she plans to attend the University of North Alabama in the fall, pursuing a business degree with a minor in political science. “I chose UNA because it truly felt like home when I came to campus,” she explained. “I love the campus and the location but also the legacy UNA holds in my family.

“I love my hometown, and after college I plan to come back to Russellville and open multiple small businesses,” Cooper added. “I want to start with a clothing store, but I see so much potential in our downtown. I want to come back to Russellville and give back to this city that has done so much for me.”

Beyond that, Cooper said she hopes to go on to earn her doctorate in business.

“I have always loved education, and I hope to keep furthering my education as long as I possibly can,” she said. “I love to learn, and I don’t know if I’ll be ready to let that go after my bachelor’s degree. I

My DYW friends have been some of the most supportive girls ever, and we all just lifted each other up.

hope to be a college professor in my later years.

At the local DYW program, Cooper said the most memorable moment was winning the Spirit of Distinguished Young Woman award.

“This award is voted on by all of the contestants for every county. We were told to choose the person who embodied what DYW meant to us,” Cooper said. “I never in a million years thought that those girls would vote for me. I have never been so happy as I was when they handed me that bouquet of flowers. I wanted to hug every contestant so badly and thank them for

making it one of the best weeks of my life.

“I would have been happy if I had walked off the stage right then,” Cooper added. “That award meant the world to me, and I was honestly still thinking about it when I was called for Franklin County’s DYW. There was so much happiness and love for girls I had only met a week prior and such thankfulness to God for allowing me to be there in that moment.

“I hope that while I am Franklin County’s Distinguished Young Woman

See COOPER, Page 32

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Cooper

Continued from page 31 and while I represent my county at state that the only thing people see in me is gratitude. That is truly all I feel – thankfulness and praise to God for bringing me to this beautiful program with so many wonderful young women.”

Cooper praised the DYW program for everything it taught her and her fellow participants – from confidence and self-worth to the value of friendship and mutual support.

“I now have a friend in almost every county in Alabama,” Cooper said. “No matter where I go in this state, there will always be someone to call.

“I wish I could convince one hundred girls from Franklin County to compete next year because I truly believe it would impact every single one of them for the better. If you are even thinking about doing the program, please sign up. If nothing else, you will come out of it with more than 20 new friends and confidence to know you are capable of hard things. Distinguished Young Woman changed my life, and I know it can do the same for so many other girls.”

As DYW co-chair Katernia Cole Coffey put it, it’s likely “the best is yet to come” for Franklin County’s Distinguished Young Woman 2022.

“My biggest dream is to never stop going and doing,” Cooper said. “I want to travel the world, learn and experience as much as I can.”

Elected to Serve Dedicated to Excellence

L to R: Chris Wallace, District 1; Jason Miller, District 2; Joseph Baldwin, District 3; David Hester, District 4; seated Barry Moore, Chairman and Probate Judge.

Franklin County Commission

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