By By Adrienne McKenzie
I had the privilege of attending the 2008 Escambia County Junior Miss Scholarship Program Saturday night in Brewton and I had a blast.
The 13 girls in the program seemed very intelligent and I know all of their family members and friends were very proud of them for even participating.
Whenever I was in high school I was a "little sister" in the Junior Miss program and so I know first hand how much hard work those girls have to put into the final event. They practice for so many hours to get ready for an event that only lasts about three hours, but they put all their hearts into it.
I was especially impressed with the talent portion of the event. All of the girls were amazing, but Lauren Holt blew me away. Lauren is a student at Flomaton High School and she performed a dance/twirl routine to "Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy" by the Andrew Sisters. At one point Lauren was juggling three batons all while keeping a smile on her face. That won her points in my book and apparently the judges liked her style also because she won the talent portion of the program.
Atmore's girls showed that they had practiced for the competition as well. Anna-Lisa McGhee of Escambia Academy performed a touching lyrical ballet to "I Can Only Imagine" by Mercy Me. After Anna-Lisa completed her talent, I heard people behind me gasp and say how beautiful it was. And I agree, Anna-Lisa did a great job and I think she picked a great song for the Junior Miss program.
Another Escambia Academy student, Courtney Bruley, competed as well. She performed sign language to "Your Mercy" and she did a wonderful job. I am always so amazed when people use sign language because it must take a lot of skill to remember what each motion means and to put it to words.
The 2008 Escambia County Junior Miss winner, Caitlyn Luttrell, is from Atmore and is a student at the Alabama School of Math and Science. Caitlyn sang "A Change in Me" from "Beauty and the Beast." I am a big fan of people who have singing ability and she definitely entertained the crowd.
But, I think the most gutsy talent performance of the Atmore girls was from Escambia County High School student Jordan McGill. Jordan sang "It Is Well" by H.G. Spafford. Typically singing is not something I would label as "gutsy," but Jordan took away the music and performed a cappella, which is something most people would not be able to pull off, but Jordan did it and she deserves kudos for her performance.
When looking through the program provided at the Junior Miss program, I am astounded at all the activities the girls are involved in. I have no idea how they have time to keep up with all their extracurricular activities and keep their grades up at the same time.
Overall, I believe all of the girls deserve a round of applause for their performances Saturday night. Congratulations to all of you for putting forth your best effort and showing the county what you are made of.
Adrienne McKenzie is a staff reporter for The Atmore Advance. She can be reached at 368-2123 or via email at lifestyles@atmoreadvance.com