By Alec Etheredge | Shelby County Reporter

The Chilton County Distinguished Young Women program event was held Saturday, July 9 at Chilton County High School.

Ada Ruth Huntley, the daughter of Liz and Tony Huntley and an upcoming senior at Chilton County High School, is the 2017 winner. She will represent Chilton County in the Alabama state competition, which will be held in Montgomery on Jan. 20-21.

This year’s participants included a total of seven girls from around Chilton County. Second runner up went to Anna Calhoun of Chilton County High School and first runner up was awarded to Lauren Wyatt of Thorsby High School.

Five categories are used in judging: scholastics, 25 percent; interview, 25 percent; talent, 20 percent; fitness, 15 percent; self-expression, 15 percent.

Kay Clark, one of the event’s organizers, said the contestants will prepare for the event by studying, exercising and practicing their talent.

“The girls have interviews to prepare for (and) they will practice in front of mirrors leading up to the event,” she said.

Huntley not only won best talent for her rendition of “Busy Toccato” on the piano, but also won for best interview and self-expression giving her the edge over the rest of the contestants.

The goal of the Distinguished Young Women organization is to encourage self-confidence and education to prepare these contestants for life after high school, as well as give each participant the chance to win scholarship money. The Chilton County competition alone gave out $3,650 in cash scholarships.

“It really helps to do our event during the summer while the girls are out of school,” Clark said. “This gives them more time to prepare for the event and helps keep their focus solely on the competition.”

Distinguished Young Women events are still going on all over the state, including Shelby County, which will be held Saturday, July 16, at Spain Park High School. The winner of the state competition will compete in the national DYW competition in June 2017.