Marli Alford will represent Crenshaw County in the Distinguished Young Women of Alabama state program.

Alford is a senior at Luverne High School, where she is an honor student. She plays varsity volleyball, basketball, softball and is varsity cheerleader captain. She is very active in her school and community.

Distinguished Young Women of Alabama is an official state preliminary of Distinguished Young Women, a national scholarship program that promotes and rewards scholarship, leadership and talent in young women. In addition to earning scholarships for college, those who participate in the Distinguished Young Women program develop friendships, self-confidence and other life skills.

Founded in 1958 in Mobile, Distinguished Young Women is the largest and oldest national scholarship program for high school girls. Many participants leave the program with scholarships to help them with their college educations.  Distinguished Young Women strives to give every young woman the opportunity to further her education and prepare for a successful future.

Alford will leave tomorrow, Fri., Jan. 9, and will spend a week in Montgomery preparing for the State Program as well as have lunch with the Cattlemen’s Association, visit local tourist sites and visit several elementary schools.

Alford will spend a week with her DYW Host Family; Mr. and Mrs. Brett Mayhew in Montgomery and will also have a roommate; Brooklyn Holt from Shelby County.

Each Distinguished Young Women program evaluates participants in the following categories: Scholastics (20 percent of overall score), Interview (25 percent of overall score), Talent (25 percent of overall score), Fitness (15 percent of overall score), and Self-Expression (15 percent of overall score).

The competition will begin on Jan. 16, and continue Saturday afternoon with finals on Saturday night.

All performances are at Frazer Methodist Church in Montgomery.

Alford is the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Chuck Alford and sister to Mallie Alford, who also was Distinguished Young Woman for Crenshaw County in 2012.