Bringing the Distinguished Young Women national finals to Mobile each year took a small army of local volunteers, even though the national scholarship and recognition program relies on close to 17,000 volunteers nationwide throughout the year. During the intense national finals week held in Mobile, more than 100 of those volunteers, most from Mobile and Baldwin counties, stepped in to keep the event running.
A Packed Week of Logistics
Cassidy Grimes, who served as the national finals chair for the program, said the local volunteer effort covered everything from housing participants with host families to preparing meals, providing transportation, and chaperoning. Organizers built out a full schedule of activities for the visiting contestants, including stops at Dauphin Island, the USS Alabama battleship memorial, and Bellingrath Gardens, giving young women from across the country a taste of the Gulf Coast during their stay.
The Backstage Moms
Among the volunteers was Carole Hegwood, known to participants as the head of the Backstage Moms, a group of contestant chaperones who stayed with the girls throughout their time in Mobile to make sure schedules and logistics stayed on track. Hegwood said she valued the scholarship opportunities the program provided contestants regardless of whether they advanced to state or national competition, and had been involved with the organization since 1991 after being encouraged to help with event photography by a college sorority advisor.
Hegwood family ties to the program ran deep. Her mother, Pat Hegwood, had also volunteered with the organization years earlier, and later returned to help alongside her daughter and granddaughter, Julie Walton. Pat Hegwood said the experience gave participants who might not otherwise travel widely a chance to build friendships with peers from other states and cultures.
What Stood Out Most
Despite the packed schedule and constant logistics, Carole Hegwood said what she remembered most about each year group of contestants was not necessarily who won, but which participants took the time to build relationships with the volunteers behind the scenes, greeting them each morning and showing appreciation for their work.
The Distinguished Young Women program, originally founded in Mobile decades earlier as Americas Junior Miss, has long maintained ties to the city, with the national finals continuing to draw contestants, families, and volunteers to the Gulf Coast region each year.