A field of six participants will compete for awards, scholarships, and the title of 2026 Distinguished Young Woman of Winston County next month. The DYW event returns to an in-person competition this year on Saturday, March 15 at 2 p.m. at Louisville High School Auditorium.
Once selected, the Winston County representative will join a slate of other DYW representatives from across Mississippi for the state competition during July 17-19 in Meridian at the Evangel Temple. From there, one winner will advance from Mississippi to the finals of the long-standing and well-respected DYW national scholarship competition.
The six local participants, competing in March for Winston County DYW, are:
--Maggie Burns, the daughter of Jennifer and Butch Burns of Louisville, is a junior at Winston Academy. She plays basketball and volleyball and is a member of Honor Society and Crown Club of Louisville. For talent, Burns will perform a monologue from the Tony award-winning musical, Wicked.
--Hayden Cheatham, the daughter of Chris and Leah Cheatham of Noxapater, is a junior at Winston Academy. A member of Honor Society, she is a cheerleader and plays basketball. She is a school newspaper reporter, FCA representative, and Crown Club of Louisville member. For talent, Cheatham will perform “Goodness of God” in American Sign Language.
--Marley Lowrey, the daughter of Joey and Joy Lowrey of Louisville, is a junior at Nanih Waiya Attendance Center. She is involved in varsity cheer, yearbook, Student Council, Beta Club, Murphy Creek youth, and vice president of Crown Club of Louisville. For talent, Lowrey will perform a dance to “Man! I Feel Like A Woman!”
--Carsen McAdory, the daughter of Jennifer and Mich McAdory of Noxapater, is a junior at Winston Academy. She serves as class vice president, plays basketball and volleyball, is a member of the National Honor Society, a member of EMEPA Youth Leadership, and is involved with Crown Club of Louisville, and SBA. For talent, McAdory will perform a tumbling routine to “Great Balls Of Fire.”
--Cayman Russell, the daughter of Christy Stockstill of Louisville, is a junior at Nanih Waiya Attendance Center. She is a cheerleader and a member of Beta Club, Winston County Anchor Club, Winston County Crown Club, Ellison Ridge Baptist Church youth group, and a student teacher at Dance Expressions. For talent, Russell will perform a dance routine to “Let’s Get Loud.”
-- Jillian Sims, the daughter of Laura Hope and Brian Sims of Louisville, is a junior at Winston Academy. She plays basketball and volleyball and is a Diamond Girl. She is a member of FBC Youth Praise Team and Bible Drills, and a member of HOSA, Crown Club of Louisville, and Anchor Club of Louisville. For talent, she will sing “Never Enough.”
For the competition, participants will be judged on five categories, weighted as scholastic (25%), interview (25%), talent (20%), fitness (15%), and self-expression (15%). The Be Your Best Self Essay remains an important feature of the DYW program.
It’s not too late for a DYW sponsorship or program ad. Interested persons should contact Madelon Taylor Flippo at (662) 803-7008 this week and express your interest. Tax-deductible sponsorships range from $50-$1,000, and the deadline is Friday, Feb. 28.
REPRINT/CORRECTION: This story was originally printed in the Feb 21 edition of the Winston County Journal, but the last three paragraphs were not included which left out the BIO of the contestant Jillian Sims. We apologize for this error.
