Guest post by Jill Lumley
On Saturday, February 24, 2018, Edna Rutland of Macon was named the Distinguished Young Woman of Bibb County 2019 and awarded $2,000.00 in cash scholarships during a county-wide scholarship program for girls in their junior year of high school. The final competition was held at Stone Edge Church in Macon.
Edna, who is the daughter of Charles and Monya Rutland of Macon, also won the “Be Your Best Self” essay category scholarship, the talent category scholarship, and the interview category scholarship. She attends Macon’s Central High School.
In the same event, Morgan Brown, of Lizella, was named the Distinguished Young Woman of Monroe County 2019. She is the daughter of Hal and Elizabeth Brown, and she attends Covenant Academy in Macon-Bibb County. Morgan was awarded $1,650.00 in cash scholarships, and she also won the fitness category scholarship and the self-expression category scholarship.
Edna and Morgan were two of the 13 high school junior girls from Monroe and Bibb counties who competed to represent the area as the Distinguished Young Women of Monroe-Bibb for the Class of 2019. Participants were evaluated in the categories of Scholastics (25%), Interview (25%), Talent (20%), Fitness (15%), and Self-Expression (15%).
The final competition represents the culmination of seven weeks of study and preparation on the part of Edna, Morgan, and the other young ladies who participated in the Distinguished Young Women program. The participants worked with members of the community to discover what it means to “Be Your Best Self.”
Throughout the next year, Edna and Morgan will represent their respective counties at various public events and serve as a role model to young people by spreading the program’s national outreach message of “Be Your Best Self.” The outreach program is designed to encourage self-esteem and excellence in all young people through its five principles: be healthy, be involved, be studious, be ambitious, and be responsible.
The 61st Georgia State Finals will take place on July 20th and 21st, 2018, in Marietta, Georgia. Edna and Morgan will travel to Marietta, along with other representatives from across the state, to participate in personal development activities and community service projects before competing for the opportunity to become the Distinguished Young Woman of Georgia for 2019 and for additional cash scholarships.
For more information on Distinguished Young Women of Monroe-Bibb, please contact Jill Lumley, MonroeBibb@DistinguishedYW.org.
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