Junior Miss becomes Distinguised Young Women pageant, recruitment begins May 17
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Formerly known as Junior Miss, the scholarship program for young women has nationally and locally changed its name to Distinguished Young Women.
Recruitment sessions for prospective contestants of the 2012 Distinguished Young Women (DYW) have been scheduled for the third week of May. Prospective contestants need only to attend one of the three scheduled sessions. Every contestant must attend a recruitment/orientation conducted by Pamela Thompson, co-coordinator of the Whitley County franchise of DYW and Cassandra Petrie, Whitley County's Junior Miss, 2011.
Petrie is the last Junior Miss of Whitley County and the winner of the 2012 program will be Whitley County's first Distinguished Young Woman. The name of the oldest and largest scholarship program for high school senior girls was changed at the national program last year in Mobile, Alabama. Only the name of the program was changed as the structure and methods of evaluation remain as they were in the Junior Miss program.
The recruitment meetings are scheduled for Tuesday, May 17, 2011, at the Churubusco Public Library, 116 Mulberry St., Churubusco at 3:45 p.m.; Wednesday, May 18, in the board room of the Whitley County Community Foundation, 400 N. Whitley St. (directly south of Columbia City High School) at 3:45 p.m. and Thursday, May 19, at the South Whitley Cleveland Township Public Library, 201 E. Front St., South Whitley. Each session will last approximately one hour. Additional recruitment sessions can be scheduled by calling 244-7467.
The 47th production of this program is set for Saturday, September 10, at 7 p.m. in the Newell Rice Auditorium of Columbia City High School. Admission is $10 per person.
Program participation is open to all girls who are high school seniors and will graduate in 2012. Prospective contestants can either be a senior in one of the county's three high schools, a resident of Whitley County but attending a school outside of Whitley County, a resident in another county but attending high school in one of Whitley County's school districts or a high school senior that is being home schooled within Whitley County.
The is no entry fee for the contestants and contestants are not allowed to solicit sponsors or scholarship donors. The board of directors for Whitley County's Distinguished Young Women program solicits scholarship donations on behalf of the contestants.
At the recruitment session prospective contestants will be given general program information in addition to the program rules. Other information will be on the program categories and Be Your Best Self which is the national, state and local outreach program conducted by DYW to encourage positive choices and growth in younger people.