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 An elegant stage decorated with shimmering blue and pink tulles
and several flower pots served as the backdrop for the 76th
anniversary of the Miss Logan County Fair Queen Pageant with fair
weather that proved to be "fair weather."
As the evening's festivities began, master of ceremonies Cameron
Kurtz introduced 2014 Queen Alyssa Morris as her father drove her to
the grandstand area in a blue convertible. Morris welcomed everyone
to the pageant and expressed appreciation for the support, asking
the audience to encourage all the girls. Outgoing Little Miss Chloe
Bottom thanked Morris and all the pageant directors for a great
year.
For the opening number, the eleven queen candidates danced their way
around the stage to the song "One Fine Day" as they neared the close
of a very fine day.
 The eleven candidates vying for this year's title were:
- Allison Bone, 17, Lincoln, daughter of Paul and Jennifer
Bone; attends Lincoln Community High School
- Molly Buse, 19, Beason, daughter of Bob and Kathy Buse;
attends Lincoln College
- Abigail Cline, 18, Lincoln, daughter of Theresa Cline;
attends Purdue University
- Lizzie Ford, 17, Elkhart, daughter of Kelby and Angie Ford;
attends Mount Pulaski High School
- Lizzi Herzog, 20, Lincoln, daughter of Christopher and
Gretchen Herzog; attends North Central College
- May Hudspeth, 19, Lincoln, daughter of Phillip Hudspeth and
Lori Metelko; attends Lincoln College
- Jessica Plummer, 18, Lincoln, daughter of Doreen Plummer and
Joseph Plummer; attends Lincoln College
- Amber Siddens, 20, Lincoln, daughter of Nancy Siddens;
attended Midwest College of Cosmetology
- Lindsey Strange, 19, Emden, daughter of Trisha Strange;
attends Heartland Community College
- Madelyn Thomas, 18, Hartsburg, daughter of Ross and Shelley
Thomas; attends Lincoln College
- Ashton Wakeman, 18, Mount Pulaski, daughter of Micah and
Laura Wakeman; attends Lincoln Christian University
To display their communication skills, each contestant spoke
on a topic of her choice with candidates discussing a diversity
of topics such as family love, learning struggles, life lessons,
the importance of a smile, the future of agriculture, FFA,
mission trips, skydiving, foster care, finding a profession you
are passionate about, being body positive, and almost losing a
father.
 For the pop question, contestants were asked to express their
opinion about the fact that schools are eliminating
extracurricular activities due to budget cuts. All of them
disagreed with extracurricular activities being eliminated
citing how these activities "enrich lives," "get students more
involved," "students enjoy them," "help schools afford smart
boards," "make students well-rounded," "help children develop,"
"help students get involved with each other and have a good
time," "are very important," "help shape a person," "help
students get more engaged in their classes," and "teach life
lessons such as time management."
As usual, the little miss contestants, who ranged in age from
five to eight years old provided some cute and sweet moments as
they introduced themselves and shared what they liked best at
the fair, which included "the rides," "the petting zoo," "corn
dogs," "cotton candy," and "the little miss competition."
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 The fifteen Little Miss contestants and their ages were Jaelyn
Anderson, 7; Myah Bowman, 7; Mia Clark, 7; Aleaha Crane, 6; Chloe
Deilkes, 5; Lydia Doolin, 5; Araya Hurley, 7; Kaeli Jones, 6; Eva
Leonard, 5; Isabella Miller, 8; Isabella Pollice, 6; Preslee Sherren,
5; Jessa Werner, 8, Beason, Ashten Wolf, 5; and Madisen Wurthy, 6.
Special guests filling the time between the various sections of the
competition included this year's queens, jr. misses, and little
misses from several different Illinois counties and several former
Logan County Fair Queens. These queens represented a range of years
that went all the way back to 1941, with some citing the great
opportunity being queen represents and the vivid memories they have
of that time.
Before this year's queen was crowned, outgoing queen Alyssa Morris
gave a teary eyed farewell speech referring to many wonderful
memories and stories, stepping out of her comfort zone, and being
honored to represent Logan County at the various festivals, events,
and at the Illinois State pageant.
She thanked the fair board, the pageant directors, Dean Bruns,
Little Miss Chloe, and most importantly her parents for all they did
to help her.
After the interlude, the judges decisions were announced.
Lizzie Ford was crowned Miss Logan County Fair 2015 and Preslee
Sherren was chosen as the new Little Miss Logan County.
Other awards for the queen contest were presented to Lizzi Herzog,
first runner up; Abby Cline, second runner up and most raffle
tickets sold; May Hudspeth, Miss Congeniality; and Ashton Wakeman,
crowd's choice.
Other awards for the Little Miss contest were presented to Myah
Bowman, first runner up; Araya Hurley, second runner up and most
raffle tickets sold; Isabella Pollice, third runner up; Jessa
Warner, fourth runner up and crowd's choice winner; and Kaeli Jones,
most photogenic.
Queen Lizzie Ford is the daughter of Kelby and Angie Ford and will
be a senior at Mount Pulaski High school this year. She plans to
major in marketing in college, is part of her school's soccer and
basketball teams, has participated in leadership conferences, and
recently travelled to Washington, D.C., where she learned more about
the government and voting systems.
Little Miss Preslee Sherren is the daughter of Robert and Alison
Sherren of New Holland.
Queen Ford, joined by Little Miss Sherren, will reign over the Logan
County Fair attending many events and presentations during the
remainder of the fair. They will represent Logan County at various
other events during the year and Ford will also compete in January
for the title of Miss Illinois County Fair.
The experiences they have will undoubtedly provide great memories
for years to come just as former queens report. 2003 Queen Katherine
Rehberg says attending the fair every single day, passing out the
ribbons at the 4-H events, having little kids come up to take their
photo with you, and representing the county at the state contest are
some of the best parts of being queen.
[Angela Reiners]
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