As North Carolina's Junior Miss, Jane Chaffee will travel to Junior Miss programs throughout the state, but her first appearance will keep her close to home.

Chaffee, who was named North Carolina's Junior Miss earlier this month in Greensboro, will appear Feb. 24 at the Pitt County Junior Miss program. She will be on hand as one of 24 participants is named Pitt County's Junior Miss 2008.

Chaffee, 17, daughter of John and Jody Chaffee of Greenville, has a long history with Junior Miss. She first attended the scholarship program when she was 9 and her sister, Anne, was a participant.

"My sister participated in it when she was a junior," Chaffee recalled "Ever since then, I assumed I would participate. ... Pretty much all the girls who do it seem to come out of it with a good experience."

Chaffee's older sister was second runner-up in 1999, the year Pitt County's Junior Miss Lauren Scott went on to be named North Carolina's Junior Miss and first runner-up in America's Junior Miss. In 2005, another Pitt County Junior Miss winner, Hope Lu, repeated Scott's performance, winning the state title and placing second nationally in 2005.

Olivia Salter, who chairs Pitt County's Junior Miss program, said that while the local program has enjoyed success at both the state and national levels, winning is not the focus.

"I tell my Junior Miss every year that I do not care what she wins, or doesn't win, at the North Carolina Junior Miss program," Salter said. "I want her to feel prepared before she leaves, so that when she gets there for her week with the other participants she can have fun and enjoy the experience."

Chaffee said the Junior Miss theme "Be Your Best Self" takes the emphasis off competition and makes participants focus, instead, on self-improvement.

"They really do stress that," Chaffee said. "They don't stress winning or anything like that. It's just really having a good time and doing the best that you can personally do."

Chaffee's personal best in the state program included winning four of the five preliminary competitions. She considered the self-expression win to be a personal victory.

"They give you a question the day before and you get on stage and you walk around in your ball gown," Chaffee said. "It's measuring your poise and composure, and then you add answering the question. I kind of messed up at local and I didn't win that preliminary. But at state program, I did, so that was probably what I'm the most proud of — that I grew in that aspect."

Chaffee was asked: "When you reach a dead end on life's highway, how do you begin again?"

The question seems appropriate for Chaffee, a J.H. Rose High School senior who hopes to study transportation and public policy when she goes to college next year.

Her winning answer?

"I said, 'We cannot always control our life's circumstances, but we can control the way we react to them. When I encounter a dead end, I stop and reflect on successes and failures leading to that point. Seeking the guidance of family, friends and teachers, I determine where it is I wish to arrive and the manner in which I wish to travel there. And who knows? Maybe that dead end is just the beginning of a new adventure on my highway of life.'"

Chaffee also won the talent portion of the state program with a dance routine that combined ballet and jazz dance. A ballet student at the North Carolina Academy of Dance Arts since age 3, she had considered pursuing a career as a dancer but has decided she wants dance to be a passion, not a profession.

"Dance is something that I really need," Chaffee said. "I came home from dance the other night and my mom said, 'I really do hope you continue dance in college because you're in such a better mood when you come home.' It's a good way for me to relieve my stress and kind of get away from homework and everything that causes stress, so I'll definitely continue it.

"One of the reasons I decided not to dance was because I wanted it to remain something that didn't cause stress in my life, and if it were my career, then it would lead to that at times," she said. "I just wanted to be able to enjoy it because it's healthy, physically and mentally, for me."

Chaffee plans to present her same dance program at the America's Junior Miss competition in Mobile, Ala., in June. She is looking forward to the experience, which will come after a hectic spring that will include choosing a college, completing high school exams and making appearances throughout the state with Junior Miss.

"By the time America's Junior Miss comes around, most of my decisions will be made (as far as college)," Chaffee said. "So it will really just be a time where I can have fun and concentrate on doing my best and having a great time."

Contact Kim Grizzard at 329-9578 or kgrizzard@coxnc.com.