FAIRHOPE, Ala. — Six young women from the Eastern Shore were selected from a field of 27 to serve on the 2009-10 Dogwood Trail Court Saturday night at the Fairhope Civic Center.

At the conclusion of the 49th annual pageant and scholarship program sponsored by the Eastern Shore Optimist Club, Mary Katherine Shoemaker and Gracen Gaddy, 15-year-old Bayside Academy sophomores; Daphne High School junior Kathleen Wainwright, 16; Spanish Fort High School junior Terra Reeves, 17; Daphne High School junior Ashley Pettaway, 16; and Fairhope High School junior Morgan Roney, 17, were selected by a panel of five judges.

A capacity crowd attended the 3.5-hour event themed Welcome to the ’60s. The 27 participants opened the pageant with a dance routine to a tune from “Hairspray.” Kenny Graves emceed the festivities from opening number, creative introductions, formal gown presentations, top 12 questions and awards presentations, of which several were presented.

Andrea Cockrell, a 16-year-old sophomore at Spanish Fort High School, won a $100 cash award from Horton Instrument Co. for selling the most program advertisements.

Madison Schneider, 15, sophomore at SFHS, and Caroline DePuma, 16, sophomore at SFHS, tied for the sophomore scholastic achievement award of a $250 cash scholarship from the Dogwood Trail Program. Each has a grade point average of 4.39.

Gaddy, Shoemaker, Allison Floyd, 16, FHS sophomore; and Wainwright were recognized for their 4.0 GPAs.

Heather Kerin, 16, junior at FHS, with a GPA of 4.21, received the junior scholastic achievement award.

Ashley Pettaway won the $100 cash scholarship from The Pensters for Best Essay.

The coveted Crystal Kae Davis Spirit of Dogwood award was given to Shannon Donaldson, 16, a junior at McGill-Toolen. She received a $250 cash scholarship to the college of her choice courtesy of the Eastern Shore Optimist Club. Mike and Terry Davis, Crystal’s parents, presented the award named in memory of their daughter, who was a member of the 1997 Court when she was killed in an automobile accident.

Terra Reeves swept three awards: Best Interview, Best Creative Introduction and Presence and Composure, which netted her three $250 cash scholarships furnished by First National Bank of Baldwin County, Regions Bank of Spanish Fort and the Eastern Shore Optimist Club.

In addition to the six selected for the Court, the following participants were among the Top 12 finalists: Meghan Lambert, 17, DHS junior; Donaldson; Mimi Henning, 17, McGill-Toolen junior; Floyd; Jamie Matthews, 16, SFHS junior; and Cockrell.

The 2009-10 Court will make their first official appearance at the Fairhope Arts & Crafts Festival in March. Serving as Goodwill Ambassadors for the Eastern Shore, these six young women will make about 200 public appearances in the next 12 months.

They each receive a $1,000 cash scholarship and their antebellum costume from the Optimist Club. Additional scholarships are awarded through Faulkner State Community College and Troy University.

Representatives from the three Eastern Shore municipalities and the Eastern Shore Chamber of Commerce presented outgoing Court members with tokens of appreciation for their year of service. The 2008-09 Court was comprised of: Taylor Christine Donze, Sydney Jewett Petite, Mary Bourne Roberts, Sarah Katherine Street, Kayla Marie Travis and Rachael Jean Whatley.