Azalea Trail Maids

The Azalea Trail Maids are a group of fifty high school seniors chosen yearly to serve as "Official Ambassadors" for the city of Mobile, Alabama. The Maids, wearing extravagant antebellum-style dresses meant to look like flowers, make appearances at many local, state, and national events. They often serve as greeters when foreigners and dignitaries visit the city, and are required to be knowledgeable about the city landmarks and history. In addition, they must have a good grade point average to be accepted and have great interview skills. The Maids are selected through a dual interview process, interviewing at the school and county level. Hundreds of girls initially try out, but only fifty become Azalea Trail Maids. The Maids are meant to embody the ideals of "Southern hospitality", and appeared at the inauguration of United States President Barack Obama.

The group gained its name from Mobile's Azalea Trail, a garden trail within the city. The trail traces its beginnings to an effort by the Mobile Junior Chamber of Commerce during the 1920s that saw the planting of azaleas along the city's streets. Following the establishment of the trail, dignitaries were invited to officially open the trail each spring, with local debutantes serving as event hostesses. This arrangement changed in 1949, with the establishment of the first Azalea Trail Court. The court featured two senior girls sent from each of the four local high schools.

The Azalea Trail Festival was established in 1951, with additional girls from neighboring Jaycees organizations invited to serve on the court. During this period the reigning Miss America served on the court as the Queen of the Azalea Trail. The event became so popular that, by the mid-1950s, each Jaycee chapter in Alabama, and a few from other states, had a representative at the festival. It was decided to limit the size of the court to fifty senior girls from Mobile County high schools. The court has remained in this arrangement since that time. A new program was started for the out-of-town girls, leading directly to the establishment of America's Junior Miss.

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