AHOSKIE – Heritage Day in Ahoskie appears to have a great connection with Miss North Carolina.

For the second consecutive year, Ahoskie will welcome the reigning Miss North Carolina to town during this annual event.

Adrienne Leigh Core, Miss North Carolina 2010, will serve as the Grand Marshall during Ahoskie’s seventh annual Heritage Day Parade. That event is set for a 10 a.m. start on Saturday, Sept. 11. The Main Street parade will begin at Southern Bank, moving west towards Academy Street.

As an added treat for this year’s parade, redeemable plastic coins will be tossed to the crowd along the route. Those coins can be collected and redeemed for prizes between the hours of 12 noon and 5 p.m. on Sept. 11 at the Ahoskie Recreation Department’s tent set-up on the Heritage Day grounds (the Ahoskie Creek Recreational Complex).

Those interested in entering a group, organization or float in the parade are urged to contact Stewart White at 332-3840. Entry deadline is Sept. 8.

Core, who was raised in Erwin, NC, was crowned as Miss North Carolina on June 27 in Raleigh.

She graduated magna cum laude from North Carolina State University with a BS in Mathematics Education (grades 9-12). She holds the honor of participating in the Teaching Fellows Program, which asks the very poignant question “Who will teach our children?” It is Adrienne’s belief that education is vital in order for children to become successful adults and she enthusiastically looks forward to helping young people achieve their educational goals by being an outstanding classroom teacher.

Adrienne excelled in academics as well as sports. She also found time to dance and developed a love for clogging, North Carolina’s official state dance, when she joined the NCSU Clogging team, of which she served as President during her junior year.

A leader in the classroom as well as on the playing field, Adrienne credits any success that she has achieved to the strong foundation provided by her parents, Beverly Core and the late Charles Core. Adrienne believes in being true to her faith and above all, embodying the Southern grace of a positive role model for young women today.

The V Foundation is close to Adrienne’s heart as she lost her beloved father to Multiple Myeloma when she was 18 years old, just before graduating high school. As Coach Valvano said in his famous ESPY speech, “don’t give up, don’t ever give up,” Adrienne’s dad lived his own life in that same fashion, never allowing the ravages of his disease to interfere with his intentions of living life to the fullest. Adrienne has that same desire and strives to do everything possible to raise funds for cancer research as well as the Children’s Miracle Network so that each and every individual might have the opportunity to have a long and happy life.

Serving as Miss North Carolina is a dream come true for Adrienne. She is eager to travel across the state in order to share her message of hope with young and old alike.