Last Saturday evening, nine beautiful, talented and intelligent young ladies graced the stage of the Luverne High School auditorium to vie for the title of the 2007 Crenshaw County Junior Miss.

The theme for the evening was &#8220An American Idol Junior Miss,” and the ladies certainly lived up to that name.

Caitlin Freeman, Zanalisha Bozeman and Brandie James represented Highland Home School, while Lauryn Beck and Anna Ray Snellgrove represented Crenshaw Christian Academy.

Tiffany Lester, Lynley Godwin and Brittany Ballard represented Brantley High School, and Brandi Rolling represented Luverne High School.

Ken Lyons served as the master of ceremonies for the evening, and special entertainment was provided by Lacy Johnson, who sang five songs during the evening's performance, including a crowd-pleasing &#8220I love Rock and Roll.” Johnson performed at this year's Montgomery Jubilee CityFest.

Jean Sims is the chairperson for the Crenshaw County Junior Miss Committee.

Emily Morgan and Mallory McDougald choreographed the dances for the evening's performances.

All of the contestants, including the 2006 Crenshaw County Junior Miss, Mallory McDougald, opened the evening's festivities when they performed a graceful dance to the song &#8220Shining Star.”

McDougald said that at this time last year, she had felt &#8220complete terror but excitement all at the same time about participating in the program.”

&#8220I would tell anyone to definitely participate,” she said. &#8220You get to meet girls from all over the state; plus, it's a wonderful program. One of the most exciting things to me during this year was meeting my host family and my roommate.”

McDougald plans to attend Troy University in the fall and major in elementary education.

Many of this year's participants were &#8220Little Sisters” during last year's program. The &#8220Little Sisters” assist with anything from clothing changes to stage preparations. This year's Little Sisters include Mary Margaret Williams, Megan Sport, Becky Lester, Marcie Holladay, Brandy Hall, Mary Cathryn Perdue, Kayla McGough and Andrea Sport. The young ladies strutted their stuff for the audience to KISS's &#8220Shout It Out Loud.”

The evaluation procedure used by the Crenshaw County's Junior Miss Program includes five categories. The Judges' Interview was worth 25 percent, and the Scholastic Achievement category was worth 20 percent. These two categories had already been completed before Saturday evening's event.

The third category was Self-Expression, and it was worth 15 percent. The ladies were asked this question: Due to the fact that only 38 percent of the registered voters of Alabama voted in the June 6 primary elections, how would you address voter apathy?

CCA's Lynley Godwin won this category when she ably reminded the audience that it was &#8220our responsibility as American citizens to vote.”

For the Talent competition, which was worth 25 percent, the senior girls presented a variety of performances, thus highlighting their originality and abilities.

Caitlin Freeman sang a beautiful a cappella version of &#8220Wonderful, Merciful Savior” in a soft and lilting voice that captured the audience.

Lauryn Beck exploded onstage in a stylish jazz dance to the song &#8220I Just Wanna Be Happy.”

Zanalisha Bozeman gave a very moving and expressive monologue entitled &#8220I.”

Tiffany Lester, who is this year's Brantley High School's Marching Band color guard captain, performed a fancy flag and dance step routine to the song &#8220Soak Up The Sun.”

Anna Ray Snellgrove, wearing a sparkling red ensemble, performed a lively tap dance routine to Roy Orbison's &#8220Pretty Woman.”

Dressed in a shiny choir robe, Brandie James presented a moving and articulate monologue entitled &#8220The U in Jesus.”

Brandi Rolling, complete with a sparkling blue and white cowgirl's ensemble and sporting a diamond-studded white rifle, sweetly sang &#8220You Can't Get a Man With a Gun” from the Broadway musical &#8220Annie, Get Your Gun.”

Brittany Ballard performed an amazing well-choreographed and athletic character dance as Tiger Lily, the Indian princess from &#8220Peter Pan.”

However, the Talent Award went to Lynley Godwin as she beautifully crooned one of Patsy Cline's biggest hits, &#8220Walking After Midnight,” a song that took the audience back to the Grand Ole Opry Stage of the 1960s.

McDougald came back onstage for her final performance in a sparkling baby blue ensemble that was accented with a handkerchief-style cut, as she performed a graceful ballet number to the song &#8220I've Had the Time of My Life” from the hit movie &#8220Dirty Dancing.”

For the Fitness category, which was worth 15 percent of the competition, all of the contestants got the chance to show off their coordination, stamina and agility as they came onstage sporting white tops and blue shorts. They performed a lively dance and exercise steps, including military-style push-ups, high kicks and sit-ups, to Aretha Franklin's hit song &#8220Think” and to the 60s hit &#8220You've Really Got Me.”

Before the presentation of the awards, Mallory McDougald took her farewell walk as the 2006 Crenshaw County Junior Miss. She thanked everyone for her &#8220whirlwind year” as Crenshaw County's Junior Miss. At the end of her farewell walk, she presented her bouquet of flowers to her parents.

The Fitness Award and a $100 cash scholarship were awarded to CCA's Lauryn Beck. Beck also received the Scholastic Award and another $100 cash scholarship.

The Self-Expression Award and a $100 cash scholarship were awarded to Brantley High School's Lynley Godwin. She was also awarded the Talent Award and another $100 cash scholarship.

The Interview Award and a $100 cash scholarship were awarded to CCA's Anna Ray Snellgrove.

The &#8220Be Your Best Self” Essay Award and a $100 cash scholarship were awarded to Brantley High School's Brittany Ballard.

The Spirit Award and a $50 cash scholarship were awarded to Highland Home School's Zanalisha Bozeman.

The second runner-up and the winner of a $500 cash scholarship was Lynley Godwin.

The first runner-up and the winner of a $750 cash scholarship was Lauryn Beck.

The 2007 Crenshaw County Junior Miss and the winner of a $100 savings bond and a $1,500 cash scholarship was Anna Ray Snellgrove.

Snellgrove is the daughter of Al and Robyn Snellgrove. At Crenshaw Christian Academy, her activities include being a Girls' State Representative, serving as SGA vice-president, captain of the dance team, being a member of the National Honor Society, a member of the math and English teams, and she has been named to Who's Who Among American High School Students. After graduation, Snellgrove plans to attend the University of Mississippi and pursue a career as a pediatrician.

Founded in 1957, the America's Junior Miss Program is a nationwide scholarship program that has successfully opened the door of opportunity for many young women. It conducted its first National Finals in 1958 and is now the oldest and largest scholarship program for high school seniors in the United States. It is conducted on the local, state and national levels and allows thousands of outstanding young women to participate each year and compete for millions of dollars available in scholarships.