FAIRHOPE, Ala. — The chilly temperatures Saturday night did nothing to dampen the high spirits of 27 Eastern Shore high school students as they competed for scholarships and a place on the 2008 Dogwood Trail Court.

At the end of the evening at the Fairhope Civic Center, six young women were selected by a panel of five judges: Taylor Donze, 17, and Sarah Katherine Street, 16, students at Bayside Academy; Daphne High School student Sydney Petite, 16; and from Spanish Fort High School, Mary Bourne Roberts, 16, Rachael Whatley, 16, and Kayla Travis, 16.

Baldwin County’s newest high school was well represented at the 2008 pageant, 15 of the 27 contestants attend that school. Both Bayside Academy contestants who entered the pageant were selected for the new court. Five contestants attend Daphne High School, and five go to Fairhope High School.

“We are an academic program. Our program aims at building leadership and social skills into these young women,” said JoAnn Broadus, executive director. “We could not accomplish our schedule of public appearances without the help of the families of the court members.”

Donze is the daughter of Allyson Donze and Alan Donze, both of Daphne; Street is the daughter of Joe and Kim Street of Daphne; Petite is the daughter of Lisa Brooks of Daphne; Roberts is the daughter of Jim and Tracy Roberts of Spanish Fort; Whatley is the daughter of Christi Mossburg of Spanish Fort; and Travis is the daughter of Glenn and Gail Travis of Spanish Fort.

Each of the six court members will receive a complete antebellum costume courtesy of the Eastern Shore Optimist Club, which sponsors the pageant program. The 2008 court will make its first official appearance in these costumes at noon, March 15, at the 56th Annual Arts & Crafts Festival in downtown Fairhope. Before their year is over, they will make more than 45 appearances and accumulate more than 130 hours of community service as goodwill ambassadors for the Eastern Shore.

From the pageant program, court members also receive a $1,000 scholarship to the college of their choice. Additional scholarships are available through Faulkner State Community College and the University of South Alabama.

This marked the second year since the court was increased to six members and the position of queen was eliminated.

“This enables one more girl to be on the court and offers all the court members more leadership experience,” Broadus said. Instead of having a queen serve for the entire year in the court leadership role, each of the six court maids serves in the leadership role for two months, she added.

Other awards presented during the evening included:

•Sarah Katherine Street received $100 for selling the most program advertising. She was also awarded a $250 cash scholarship as the sophomore scholastic achievement winner. Sarah also received a $100 cash scholarship for entering the best essay. This category was judged by members of The Pensters writing club.

•Kelsey Smith received a $250 cash scholarship as the junior scholastic achievement winner. She also won the Crystal Kae Davis Spirit of Dogwood award, which includes a $250 cash scholarship (courtesy of the Optimist Club). This award is named for a 1997 Dogwood Trail maid who died in a traffic accident during her year on the court.

•Scholastic achievement runner-up awards of $200 cash scholarships were presented to sophomore Heather Kerin and junior Felicia Staub.

The above awards are furnished by the Dogwood Trail Program.

• Taylor Donze won the interview component, which counted for 40 percent of each girl’s score. This award included a $250 cash scholarship to the college of the winner’s choice courtesy of First National Bank of Baldwin County.

•Mary Bourne Roberts won the Creative Introduction component, which counts for 25 percent in the scoring. Mary also won the Presence and Composure component, which counts for 35 percent in the scoring. Each of these awards earned Roberts a $250 scholarship furnished by the Optimist Club.

The top 12 contestants received a 75 percent composite score from the judging to that point. Each was then asked a question. The score for their answer made up the remaining 25 percent of their final score.

Other finalists were: Felicia Staub, Grace Young, Miriam Clarke, Kelsey Smith, Terra Reeves and Allison Bean.

The 2007 Dogwood Court — Claire Tyler Chapman, Alexandra Elise Goolsby, Carolyn Ann Hailey, Brandy Kathryn Parrish, Parrish Tracy and Shaelah Marie Walker — received plaques and certificates of appreciation from Fairhope Mayor Tim Kant, Daphne Mayor Fred Small and Spanish Fort Councilwoman Mary Brabner, filling in for Mayor Joe Bonner, in recognition of the court’s service to the three Eastern Shore cities. Darrelyn Bender, president of the Eastern Shore Chamber of Commerce, and the Eastern Shore Optimist Club also presented them with tokens of appreciation.

At a tea held Sunday, the 2008 Dogwood Court maids selected their costume colors: Street, peach; Whatley, lavender; Travis, aqua; Petite, yellow; Donze, pink; and Roberts, blue.