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 A decorated stage served as the backdrop for the 81st Logan County
Fair Queen Pageant.
Master of Ceremonies Cameron Kurtz welcomed everyone to the 83rd
anniversary of the fair, thanking the many sponsors, and introduced
2018 Logan County Fair Queen Molly Schempp who thanked everyone for
coming and wished all the contestants luck.
Junior Miss Julia Collins sang the National Anthem to help kick off
the evening.
For the opening production number, the queen candidates danced
across the stage to Kool and the Gang’s “Celebration” as they
introduced themselves.
The candidates vying for the title included:
Alice Roate of Lincoln, daughter of Colleen and Bussy Roate, who
attends Iowa State University.
Jayden Lawrence of Beason, daughter of Amy and Shawn Lawrence, who
attends Lincoln College.
Faith Doerr of Elkhart, daughter of Marsha and Scott Doerr, who
attends Southern Illinois University at Edwardsville.
Saristen Morgan of Lincoln, daughter of Betty and Tim Morgan, who
will be a junior at Lincoln Community High School.
Skye Kretzinger of Chestnut, daughter of Tiffany and Joseph
Kretzinger, who attends Lincoln Land Community College.
Katie Hunsley of Lincoln, daughter of Diane and Mark Hunsley, who
attends Illinois Wesleyan University.
Kamryn Aylesworth of Mount Pulaski, daughter of Kelly and Randy
Aylesworth, who attends the University of Findlay in Ohio.
Sesleigh Peacock of Lincoln, daughter of Stacy Peacock and Caleb
Peacock, who will be a junior at Lincoln Community High School.
To display their communication skills, which is 40 percent of the
score, queen contestants spoke on a topic of their choice. The women
delivered a range of subjects that included doing something out of
your comfort zone, doing anything you put your mind to, having
determination and a strong work ethic and changing the face of the
future by being a pediatric surgeon.
Others spoke of the need to “just keep swimming,” letting your light
shine, never doubt yourself and never take small things in life for
granted.
For the pop question, contestants were asked their thoughts on
whether their social media should be used in judging. Most thought
it should because their posts will always be there, what people post
says a lot about them and reflects on their character and their
image. Others said it shows how people can be a different person
behind a screen, how people view themselves, how they represent
themselves and how they show themselves to the community, which is a
big part of being queen.
The rest of contestant scoring was based on an interview done
earlier in the day with the judges, a swimsuit competition to
display their beauty and physique, and an evening gown competition
to show their stage presence.
In 2017, a Junior Miss competition was added for girls between the
ages of nine and 12, and last year, the age range was changed to 11
to 13.
Junior Miss contestants danced across the stage to the song “Under
the Sea” from Disney’s “The Little Mermaid” as they introduced
themselves.
This year’s seven Junior Miss contestants included Anna Kindred,
Elizabeth Hudson, Lauryn Crawford, Lyvia Mundy, Myah Bowman, Sophie
Morgan and Trista Davis.
A three-minute personal interview done before the contest was worth
75 percent of their score. Ten percent of the score came from their
appearance on stage and 15 percent from answering a question asked
by Kurtz.
Kurtz asked these contestants, “If you could take your judges
anywhere in Logan County, where would you take them and why?”
Answers included their favorite rides, their family farm, Route 66
in Atlanta, country roads to see corn and bean fields and cows, Top
Hat Creamery and Kickapoo Creek Park because of how these places
represent the county.
As always, the Little Miss contestants provided some adorable
moments as they introduced themselves. They also told what they like
about the fair, which included the fish game, the slide, the rides,
the Scrambler, the Merry-go-round, the Ferris wheel and the mirror
maze. Others enjoy the animals and petting zoo, the dresses at the
pageant and everything about the fair.
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This year’s fifteen Little Miss contestants included Abigail Horton, Avagial
Glazik, Averie Johnson, Brinley Balance, Callie Martin, Emily Lawrence, Harper
Whitted, Jolie Grisham, Khloe Kretzinger, Kinley Behrends, Lillian Hilgendorf,
Mallery Klapp, Sophia Goodman, Sophia Streubing and Trinity Crawford.
Little Miss contestants were judged on a two-minute personal interview, done
beforehand that made up 75 percent of their score. The other 25 percent of their
score came from their stage presence.
As in previous years, special guests filled the time between the various
sections of the competition. These guests included this year's queens, junior
misses, and little misses from 10 other Illinois counties, who introduced
themselves and wished the contestants luck.
Other guests included several former Logan County Fair Queens and Little
Misses. The royalty who ranged from recent years shared what they are doing now,
as well as from 1958 Queen Janet (Ritchhart) Luckhart, 1969 Queen Deborah (Leimbach)
Hamilton and 1974 Queen Elise (Gleason) Harms Though she was unable to make an
appearance on stage, 1945 Fair Queen Evelyn Oltmanns Belcher waved to everyone
from her seat. Several of the special select alumni fondly recalled their days
serving as queen.
Before results were announced, the outgoing 2018 royalty gave farewell
speeches.
Little Miss Kylee Fulk thanked her “pageant sisters” and the county for a great
year and wished the contestants good luck.
Junior Miss Julia Collins thanked the county, the pageant directors, her “sash
sisters” Queen Molly and Little Miss Kylee for a great year and for what they
taught her. Collins said she loved the experience and the fair has changed her
life.
Queen Molly Schempp said last year she challenged people to make it happen and
she talked about what happened this year. Schempp said she had an incredible
experience and loved getting to know Little Miss Kylee and Junior Miss Julia and
their inspiration. She enjoyed being in the festivals and parades; and greeting
the Land of Lincoln Honor Flight, which her grandpa Johnson was on.
Schempp thanked many people including 2017 Logan County Fair Queen Meg Meeker
for encouraging her to enter the pageant, the fair board, her friend Kristy, her
family for their love and support and the pageant crew for their dedication.
Finally, the judge's decisions were announced. Skye Kretzinger was crowned Miss
Logan County Fair 2019, Anna Kindred was crowned Junior Miss Logan County, and
Jolie Grisham was chosen as the new Little Miss Logan County.
Other awards for the queen contest were presented to First Runner-up, Faith
Doerr; Second Runner-up, Katie Hunsley; Crowd's Choice, Alice Roate; Most
business connections, Faith Doerr and most raffle tickets sold, Kate Hunsley.
The Dean Bruns Memorial Miss Congeniality award was given to Jayden Lawrence.
From this year on, the award will honor the memory of long-time Fair Board
President Dean Bruns, who passed away last fall.
Other awards for the junior miss contest were First Runner-up, Myah Bowman;
Second Runner-up, Trista Davis; Most photogenic and Crowd's Choice, Anna
Kindred; and Most raffle tickets sold, Sophie Morgan.
Other awards for the little miss contest were First Runner-up, Brinley Ballance;
Second Runner-up and Crowd's Choice, Sophia Goodman; Most photogenic, Callie
Martin; and Most raffle tickets sold, Averie Johnson.
Queen Skye Kretzinger said she returned to the pageant this year determined to
do better. Kretzinger attends Lincoln Land Community College and will earn her
Associate’s Degree in Art with an emphasis in Agriculture in fall 2019. After
graduating, she will attend Illinois State University to pursue a degree in
Agribusiness Economics with hopes to obtain a job in the agriculture industry
that will continue her passion for the field.
Kretzinger’s hobbies include volunteering at Mount Pulaski Grade School in the
classrooms and the library, travelling with various clubs and organizations and
helping with various FFA events. She enjoys reading motivational books, spending
time with family and friends and visiting different museums.
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Queen Skye Kretzinger joined by Junior Miss Anna Kindred and Little Miss Jolie
Grisham will reign over the remainder of the Logan County Fair attending several
events and presentations handing out ribbons. The fair royalty will also
represent Logan County at various events during the year with Kretzinger
competing in January for the title of Miss Illinois County Fair.
[Angela Reiners] |
