When Mississippi’s rising COVID-19 numbers prompted the cancellation of July’s state finals for the 2021 Distinguished Young Women of Mississippi, program officials immediately went into action.

“A lot of the girls’ parents, host families, and even the judges became concerned because the pandemic numbers were increasing for Mississippi,” annual Program Chairman Hampton Thames said. “Even though we were prepared and had taken all the necessary precautions — the hospitals had assisted us with a great plan and we were going to follow social distancing guidelines for the girls, volunteers, and audience members— everyone’s safety was our primary concern.”

Instead of a live presentation, DYWM officials decided to make the 64th state finals virtual: a first for the program, which is held annually in Meridian.

The state finals will be streamed online over two nights. Preliminary night will feature pre-recorded footage and will stream Saturday, Sept. 26. Finals will stream live Sunday, Sept. 27. Both broadcasts will begin at 7 p.m. and are made possible by Meridian Community College.

“The beauty of the live stream is more than 450 people will be able to see the state finals, which was the number we were going to limit attendance to at the Evangel Temple Church for the live performance,” Thames said. “This way, so many more people can see how talented and accomplished these young ladies are. The stream will be available not just to those in Mississippi, but also those who live outside the state. So relatives and friends who live in other locales also will be able to see it.”

Twenty-five contestants will vie for the overall state title. Each participant is evaluated in five categories: scholastics (25 percent), interview (25 percent), talent (20 percent), fitness (15 percent), and self-expression (15 percent).

For the virtual program, the participants’ stage segments for fitness, talent, and self-expression were filmed at Evangel Temple over two weekends in late August.

“We brought the girls to the church in groups of four and three every 2 1/2 hours and filmed them doing each of their segments using high-definition filming,” Hampton explained. “Social distancing guidelines were followed and masks were worn at all times, except when the girls were performing.”

Interviews by the judges were scheduled over two days and conducted via Zoom. Scholastics are evaluated by a separate judge.

For the preliminary question asked during the program’s self-expression segment, each contestant received their question via text one hour prior to their arrival at Evangel Temple Church on their day of filming.

Each contestant in each group was assigned a separate dressing room, which was thoroughly cleaned in between groups, Thames said.

State program officials were committed to making the virtual program to be as close to a live performance as possible, including the opening number.

“We kept the same opening number that was designed by our choreographer for the live performance and had different girls to do different parts of it. Our video company, led by Tony Boutwell, is going to do a really great opening of all the girls from that,” Thames said.

Each contestant was given 10 minutes to become acclimated to the stage before their individual performance.

“And then we did it just like a movie — complete with the clapperboard,” Thames said. “Their intro was read, we dimmed the lights, we did a lighting sequence for each of the girls — we made it real for them.”

While the state program’s judges viewed the entire three-minute fitness routine filmed for each group, an edited version will be presented during the virtual broadcast.

“In the essence of time, we’re only going to show the first minute and 20 seconds for each group,” Thames explained. “Whoever makes it to the top finalists, their whole performance will be seen.”

Instead of 10 finalists, this year’s state program will have eight. Due to the expense of the virtual production, state program officials wanted to make sure scholarship funds would not be affected.

“We are extremely fortunate this year due to the generosity of our sponsors that we are able to keep scholarships at $25,400 this year,” Thames said.

Because it was unknown which contestants would be selected to the Top 8, all 25 of the program’s participants received an extemporaneous question to respond to during the Top 8 self-expression segment immediately following them recording their response to their preliminary question.

The overall winner will be announced on the live stream broadcasting Sunday. Following state finals, the 2021 Distinguished Young Woman of Mississippi titleholder will Facebook and Instagram live with 2020 Distinguished Young Woman of Mississippi titleholder Becky Williams.

The link to watch the live stream is http://mcceagles.live 

Following are brief bios of the 2021 Distinguished Young Women of Mississippi contestants:

Georgia Claire Rudolph, Leake County

High School: Leake Academy

Career goal: Special Needs Therapist

College choice: Mississippi State University

Talent: Vocal presentation of “Desperado” by The Eagles

Parents: Ben and Paige Rudolph

Chloe Grace Weeks, Winston County

High School: Nanih Waiya Attendance Center

Career goal: Pediatric Oncologist

College choice: Mississippi State University

Talent: Piano presentation of “Whitewater Chopped Sticks” by Calvin Jones

Parents: Kevin and Twyla Weeks

Morgan Faith McGlothin, Choctaw County

High School: Choctaw County High School

Career goal: Speech Language Pathology

College choice: Holmes College and the University of Southern Mississippi

Talent: Vocal presentation of “For Good” from the musical “Wicked”

Parents: Sheila and Jeremy Threadgill, Dane and Pam McGlothin

Taniya Dreonna Davis Holt, Clarke County

High School: Quitman High School

Career goal: Neonatal Nurse Practitioner

College choice: University of Southern Mississippi

Talent: Lyrical dance presentation to “Rise Up” by Andra Day

Parents: Leroy and Julie Holt

Mary Katherine Moran, Neshoba County

High School: Neshoba Central High School

Career goal: Biomedical Engineering followed by medical school

College choice: Mississippi State University

Talent: Piano presentation of “Polonaise in G Minor” by Frederic Chopin

Parents: Brett and Emily Moran

Bralynn Rainer Newell, Newton County

High School: Newton County High School

Career goal: Master’s degree is secondary education

College choice: Mississippi State University

Talent: Vocal presentation of “Anyone” by Demi Lovato

Parents: Michelle Newell and Brad Newell

Shelby Tisdale, Rankin County

High School: The Mississippi School for Mathematics and Science

Career goal: Undecided

College choice: Duke University

Talent: Spoken word poetry presentation of “Genesis”

Parents: Allen and Celia Tisdale

Caroline Prewitt, West Lauderdale

High School: Lamar School

Career goal: Work with an international nonprofit

College choice: Washington University in St. Louis

Talent: Vocal presentation of “Some Things Are Meant to Be” from the musical “Little Women”

Parents: Drs. Kendrick and Lindsey Prewitt

Marley Elizabeth Thornton, Smith County

High School: Raleigh High School

Career goal: Veterinarian

College choice: Mississippi State University

Talent: Vocal presentation of “Feeling Good”

Parents: Doug and Monica Thornton

Jalyssiah Chanel Ott, East Lauderdale

High School: Lamar School

Career goal: Nursing

College choice: University of Mississippi, Mississippi State University, University of Southern Mississippi

Talent: Lyrical dance presentation to “Rise Up” by Andra Day

Parents: LaShonda Boddie

Akura Traneshia Brown, At-Large, Copiah County

High School: Brookhaven High School

Career goal: Labor and Delivery Nurse

College choice: Mississippi College

Talent: Monologue

Parents: Derek and Tracy Brown

Hannah Grace Horton, Scott County

High School: Scott Central Attendance Center

Career goal: Registered Nurse

College choice: East Central Community College

Talent: Vocal presentation of “You Say”

Parents: Cliff and Leigh Ann Horton

Loren Wade, Petal

High School: Petal High School

Career goal: Registered Nurse

College choice: University of Southern Mississippi

Talent: Piano presentation of “L’Orage” by Johann Burgmuller

Parents: Jason and Kaylee Wade

Rachael Elizabeth Barbieri, Lamar County

High School: Presbyterian Christian School

Career goal: Chemical Engineering

College choice: University of Mississippi

Talent: Lyrical dance presentation to “Heaven is a Place on Earth” by Katie Thompson

Parents: Rocco and Corinne Barbieri

Laney Kate Hulbert, George County

High School: George County High School

Career goal: Attorney

College choice: University of Mississippi

Talent: Ballet en pointe presentation to “Victory” by Bond

Parents: Phillip and Holly Hulbert

Makenzie Christine Stone, Starkville

High School: Starkville High School

Career goal: Dermatologist

College choice: Vanderbilt University

Talent: Vocal presentation of “Journey to the Past” by Stephen Flaherty and Lynn Ahrens

Parents: Brenda Stone and Glynn Stone

Abney Grace Pittman, Wayne County

High School: Wayne Academy

Career goal: Pharmacy

College choice: University of Mississippi

Talent: Speed Art to “Rise Up” by Andra Day

Parents: Ricky and Amy Pittman and Sandy Pittman

Evan Cain, West Jackson County

High School: Ocean Springs High School

Career goal: Pediatric Cardiologist

College choice: University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

Talent: Dance presentation to “Ashes” by Celine Dion

Parents: Ted and Julie Cain

Hannah Elizabeth Watts, Marion County

High School: Columbia High School

Career goal: Government Official

College choice: University of Mississippi

Talent: Monologue presentation

Parents: Herbert Watts and Sarah Watts

Anna Carroll, Pearl River County

High School: Pearl River Central High School

Career goal: Clinical Geneticist

College choice: University of Southern Mississippi

Talent: Piano presentation of the main theme from “Jurassic Park”

Parents: Kirby and Tabatha Carroll

Karli Elizabeth Welch, Simpson County

High School: Mendenhall High School

Career goal: Medical Field

College choice: University of Southern Mississippi

Talent: Vocal presentation of “Wind Beneath My Wings” by Bette Midler

Parents: David and Charity Welch

Sydney Hanson, Pascagoula

High School: Pascagoula High School

Career goal: Cosmetic Dermatologist

College choice: Mississippi State University

Talent: Jazz dance presentation to “Ain’t No Sunshine When She’s Gone”

Parents: Lonnie and Maureen Hanson

Anna Claire Welborn, East Jackson County

High School: East Central High School

Career goal: Broadcast Journalism

College choice: Mississippi State University

Talent: Musical theatre presentation to “Naughty” from the musical “Matilda”

Parents: Greg and Denise Welborn

Edith Ruth Havard, Greene County

High School: Greene County High School

Career goal: Business Degree

College choice: Jones College

Talent: Baton Twirling presentation to “Holding Out for a Hero”

Parents: Marty and Linda Havard

Ashley Grace Bassett, Madison County

High School: Homeschooled

Career goal: Medical School

College choice: Mississippi College

Talent: Piano presentation of “Whitewater Chopped Sticks”

Parents: William and Barbie Bassett