News

Meet Haley Marshall, 2026 Apple Ambassador

By KEVYN CARTER-LONG, Published: August 30, 2026

Perched on a shaded picnic table at Lively Orchard in the apple country, Haley Marshall and her first-grade teacher, Stephanie Lively, paid homage to their long-standing friendship and community.

A Hendersonville native who just started her senior year at East Henderson High School, Haley was chosen as the 2026 Apple Ambassador out of dozens of applicants. Growing up closely tied to the Nix family orchard and riding the Pat’s School of Dance float every year at the N.C. Apple Festival, Haley has never known a life without apples.

“I was shocked,” Haley says of her reaction when she learned in the spring that she had been named ambassador.

As Apple Ambassador, Haley will appear throughout the four-day festival and in some events afterwards, promoting the apple industry.

Haley’s earliest and most treasured memories of the festival have been through Pat’s, where has danced from age 5 to 16.

She endured a challenging childhood when family members struggled with addiction.

The dance community saw her through — “during the best, the bad, the grief, through everything,” she says. “They definitely (know) me on a different level than a lot of people because I didn’t really talk about the hard stuff growing up. It just wasn’t something that I wanted to share with people.”

Aspires to be a teacher

A dual-enrolled student at Blue Ridge Community College, Haley has already completed her high school graduation requirements; she’ll graduate in the spring with an associate’s degree already under her belt.

She plans to continue her academic career at Western Carolina University next year, aiming to earn a bachelor’s degree in Non-Public School Early Childhood Education. Working in non-public schools specifically allows her to work more one-on-one with families, which is her ideal work.

“I’m going to do early childhood intervention,” Haley says, describing her desire to work with youngsters who have development challenges.

Not only will Haley graduate from East with a junior college degree and a high school diploma, she has for the past year been a young businesswoman, making bracelets.

Haley says she has always struggled with talking to people about Jesus and “spreading the gospel.” So last year, when her pastor at Revive Youth Camp in Ocoee Ridge, Tennessee, suggested Haley use her love of jewelry-making as her Christian faith witness, Haley plunged in.

Entering her senior year, “I feel like progress I’ve made in life,” she says. “Thinking back just a few years ago, I definitely wouldn’t believe it.”