Camilla Tutt was announced Marengo County’s Distinguished Young Woman 2017 on Saturday, Sept. 24, and now will represent the county in Montgomery for the organization’s statewide competition.
Tutt traveled to Montgomery on Friday with the main program being held at Frazer United Methodist Church on Friday, Jan. 20, and Saturday, Jan. 21, beginning at 7 p.m. each night. Tickets for the event will be available at the door.
As Marengo County’s Distinguished Young Woman, Tutt received a $700 overall winner scholarship, a $100 talent winner scholarship, and a $100 self-expression award scholarship, which is awarded for on-stage questions.
Other Marengo County participants in September included: Lauren Boone, Mary Frances Brown, and Ellen Dunklin. Boone received $400 as first alternate, a $100 fitness award, and a $200 scholastic award. Mary Frances Brown received $100.
Distinguished Young Women (formerly Marengo County Junior Miss) is a program that combines the chance to win college scholarships with a program that offers life skills training to prepare young women for the world after high school. Each year the group awards over $1.1 billion in scholarships. The program takes place in all 50 states and Washington DC. Young women participate in either their junior or senior year of high school.
Each Distinguished Young Woman program evaluates participants in the following categories: scholastics, interview, talent, fitness, and self-expression.
Local program winners in states advance to the state level. All state winners participate in the national finals, which is held in Mobile in June after high school graduation.

(This article originally appeared in the Saturday, Jan. 14, print edition of the Demopolis Times.)