Pike County Junior Miss Marlie Wilkes is anxiously awaiting what will be one of the most memorable experiences of her young life – competing in the Alabama Junior Miss Program in Montgomery, Jan. 9-17.

Wilkes will spend nine days preparing for and competing in the statewide program along with 52 other Junior Miss contestants.

“I’m especially looking forward to being with all the other girls,” Wilkes said. “I went to orientation on Dec. 6, and we had the best time, so to be with the other girls for nine days will be a lot of fun and something that I will always remember.”

Being with them will also be a lot of hard work. Wilkes said rehearsals for the competition will consume most of their time.

“We have to rehearse several routines, one for the opening number, one for fitness and self-expression and there might be a closing routine,” Wilkes said. “They will keep us very busy. I’ve looked at the schedule and a lot of nights we won’t get back in until after 11 o’clock.”

But the Alabama Junior Miss Program won’t be all work and no play. The whirlwind schedule will include banquets at the Alabama Cattlemen’s Association and with the Montgomery Kiwanis Club, a visit to Montgomery elementary schools and a trip to the zoo.

The contestants will stay in the homes of host families and the host moms will accompany them to dinner with the Cattlemen and the host dads will escort the Junior Misses to a night of dancing and karaoke fun.

Wilkes said she is looking forward to all of the competition events but feels that her strong suit is the talent event.

“I’ve been clogging for 10 years and feel really comfortable with my talent for the program,” she said. “I will clog to ‘The Devil Went Down to Georgia.’ It’s kind of a signature dance for nine of us who started clogging at the same time. I really enjoy doing it and it brings back a lot of happy memories for me.”

Wilkes said the area of competition that might cause some apprehension for her and some of the other contestants is the self-expression category.

“The area of competition has been changed this year so we don’t know what to expect,” she said. “That could cause some skepticism.”

Three hours before the self-expression portion of the program, the contestants will be handed a question and then given 20 seconds to respond on stage.

In the past, each contestant has been given 20 seconds to express their views on a subject of their choice, usually their Junior Miss platform.

“I really like the new way better because it’s more of a level playing field,” Wilkes said. “The competition was probably harder to judge in the past because each contest was speaking on a different subject. This way we’ll have to respond to the same question.”

The competition events of the 2009 Alabama Junior Miss Program will be on Friday and Saturday, Jan. 16 and 17.

Wilkes will compete in the fitness and self-expression events at 7:30 p.m. on Friday night at Frazier Memorial United Methodist Church. She will perform her talent at 1 p.m. on Saturday and the finals of the statewide competition will be at 7:30 p.m. on Saturday.

Wilkes will spend nine days preparing for and competing in the statewide program along with 52 other Junior Miss contestants.

“I’m especially looking forward to being with all the other girls,” Wilkes said. “I went to orientation on Dec. 6, and we had the best time, so to be with the other girls for nine days will be a lot of fun and something that I will always remember.”

Being with them will also be a lot of hard work. Wilkes said rehearsals for the competition will consume most of their time.

“We have to rehearse several routines, one for the opening number, one for fitness and self-expression and there might be a closing routine,” Wilkes said. “They will keep us very busy. I’ve looked at the schedule and a lot of nights we won’t get back in until after 11 o’clock.”

But the Alabama Junior Miss Program won’t be all work and no play. The whirlwind schedule will include banquets at the Alabama Cattlemen’s Association and with the Montgomery Kiwanis Club, a visit to Montgomery elementary schools and a trip to the zoo.

The contestants will stay in the homes of host families and the host moms will accompany them to dinner with the Cattlemen and the host dads will escort the Junior Misses to a night of dancing and karaoke fun.

Wilkes said she is looking forward to all of the competition events but feels that her strong suit is the talent event.

“I’ve been clogging for 10 years and feel really comfortable with my talent for the program,” she said. “I will clog to ‘The Devil Went Down to Georgia.’ It’s kind of a signature dance for nine of us who started clogging at the same time. I really enjoy doing it and it brings back a lot of happy memories for me.”

Wilkes said the area of competition that might cause some apprehension for her and some of the other contestants is the self-expression category.

“The area of competition has been changed this year so we don’t know what to expect,” she said. “That could cause some skepticism.”

Three hours before the self-expression portion of the program, the contestants will be handed a question and then given 20 seconds to respond on stage.

In the past, each contestant has been given 20 seconds to express their views on a subject of their choice, usually their Junior Miss platform.

“I really like the new way better because it’s more of a level playing field,” Wilkes said. “The competition was probably harder to judge in the past because each contest was speaking on a different subject. This way we’ll have to respond to the same question.”

The competition events of the 2009 Alabama Junior Miss Program will be on Friday and Saturday, Jan. 16 and 17.

Wilkes will compete in the fitness and self-expression events at 7:30 p.m. on Friday night at Frazier Memorial United Methodist Church. She will perform her talent at 1 p.m. on Saturday and the finals of the statewide competition will be at 7:30 p.m. on Saturday.