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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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