North Carolina’s Outstanding Teen Visits Martin County

Williamston Rotarians had a visit from an “outstanding” teenager on Tuesday when Ciara Newman, Miss North Carolina’s Outstanding Teen, was the club’s guest speaker. Ciara is currently on a campaign to visit and do community service in all 100 of North Carolina's counties.




Newman, an 18-year-old senior at North Henderson High School in Hendersonville, NC, and the daughter of Gary and Paula Newman, was crowned Hendersonville’s Outstanding Teen last February, and then won the state title in Raleigh in June. While many people may not yet be familiar with the Miss America’s Outstanding Teen Organization, most are well aware of the program’s “big sister,” Miss America, the world’s largest provider of scholarships for women and a tradition since 1921.

Following her speech to the group, Newman was presented with a bag of local peanuts, a gift from Dr. Bill Gray, retired dentist and program chair for the club. Shown with Dr. Gray (middle) and Ciara Newman (right) is Tiffany Ervin (left) from the Hendersonville Rotary and Ciara's escort during this visit.

Ciara represented the Tarheel State in the 2006 Miss America’s Outstanding Teen Pageant in Orlando, Fla, in August. In September, she set a personal goal to visit every county in North Carolina during her year of service. Martin County became number 58, and with another 10 already on her schedule, that means only 32 more to go!