News

Apple Ambassador proud to promote ‘apple growers who make this festival thrive’

East Henderson High School senior Ryah McDonald is the 2025 Apple Ambassador.

By Amy McCraw, Published: August 27, 2025

Ryah McDonald grew up with parents who enjoyed the Apple Festival right up until Main Street in downtown Hendersonville became crowded with visitors.

Each year, just before the lineup of marching bands, floats and more began rolling down the street in the King Apple Parade, her parents would head for the exits causing Ryah to miss the festival’s Labor Day parade.

“We were always going to attend when I was little, but it was always raining or there was a lot of people around and my parents didn’t want to stay,” Ryah said recently.

A senior at East Henderson High School, Ryah will not only attend her first-ever Apple Festival parade, she will be featured on a float representing the festival’s scholarship program as the Apple Ambassador for the 2025 North Carolina Apple Festival.

“I think they’ll stay this year,” Ryah said with a laugh when asked if her parents might again skip the parade to avoid the crowds.

‘I was so overwhelmed’ to be chosen

Ryah said she decided to apply for the apple ambassador scholarship after a friend who applied last year encouraged her.

“It motivated me to want to be a part of our community,” she said.

After going through the interview process with the selection committee, Ryah said she received the call telling her she was chosen to be the apple ambassador at about 9:30 in the evening the same day as her interview.

“They call all the girls. I cried. I ran into the living room and my parents hugged me without knowing why I was crying,” she said. “I was so overwhelmed.”

Ryah said she was also honored and grateful to be chosen this year’s apple ambassador.

“This recognition is not only a personal milestone, since I’ve dreamed about this since I was a little girl, but also a celebration of our community’s rich agricultural heritage and the hard-working apple growers who make this festival thrive,” she said. “I am proud to represent such a vibrant and dedicated community and I look forward to representing the Apple Growers Association and my hometown, Henderson County.”

Ryah did not grow up part of Henderson County’s apple industry, but she said she wants to learn as much as she can about apple farming while serving as apple ambassador.

 She said she plans to meet with apple growers at the festival.

In addition to her duties as apple ambassador, Ryah is the captain of her school’s cross-country team and runs both indoor and outdoor track. She also keeps stats for East’s wrestling team, and works parttime baby and dog sitting. She enjoys both, but says “the dogs don’t have as many tantrums.”

 The apple ambassador program provides two scholarships each year and is open to all rising seniors in Henderson County.
Ryah, the daughter of Brian and Toni Ryah, will attend all four days of the festival and will also represent the festival at the N.C. Mountain State Fair as well as other events across the state throughout the year. She will be awarded a $2,000 college scholarship upon graduation from high school in May 2026.

After graduation, she plans to attend a four-year university and receive a bachelor’s degree in nursing with plans to become a certified registered nurse anesthetist. She volunteers Pardee Hospital.

“I think I always wanted to help people,” she said.

This year’s runner-up is Lillyana Galloway, also a rising senior at East Henderson High School. She will be awarded a $1,500 college scholarship, an increase from previous years. The Apple Festival Board recently voted to increase the runner-up award due to the amount of volunteer hours the second-place winner contributes to the festival.
Reagan Price and Sutton Hughes, of West Henderson High School; Elliot Jackson and Sarah Orr, of Hendersonville High School; and Selah Masterson and Sharlotte Lyda of North Henderson High School were also chosen to represent their schools for interviews. They will join Ryah and Lillyana at the festival and on this year’s apple ambassador float.
Applicants for the scholarship are required to submit their transcripts, list of activities, provide letters of recommendation and write an essay on the Apple Festival and the importance of the apple industry to this area. The apple ambassador is selected based on this information and through an interview process.
The apple ambassador and runner-up are awarded the Evelyn Lutz Hill Memorial Scholarship. This scholarship honors Hill, who served as the secretary of the North Carolina Apple Growers for many years.
The apple ambassador sponsor is Champion Comfort Experts, a new addition for the festival.