Close to the End

This past week I made my final stops along my "queen tour." It is amazing how fast this summer has gone! Its also amazing as to how many people have viewed my blog! When I first started posting, I figured I would only get a few views from family and friends. It turns out I have reached people from all ends of the earth! I am still curious as to how eleven people from Russia found out about the Iowa State Fair Queen's blog! Never underestimate the power of social media!

On Sunday, I helped judge an impressive group of girls in Algona for the Kossuth County Fair.  I loved how so many of the girls enjoyed musical and fine art activities!  Many of them have composed or written music of their own, which is something I love to do! On Tuesday, they crowned the new queen Jordan Hall (one of the musical girls!). Congrats!

My cousin Cheri Daum and my Aunt Sandy Schnepf volunteered as chaperones on Wednesday night as we headed to Woodbury County for some final judging and the crowning of a new queen! The best part of the night was during the coronation of their new king. The 2011 King "knighted" the new king in with a cattle show stick. This should be a tradition at every king coronation...it was absolutely great! Kali Weber will serve as the new Woodbury County Fair Queen; she did a wonderful job!

My queen tour has come to an official end. In one week the Iowa State Fair will begin and soon my reign will be over. This year has been an absolute whirlwind, but the experience of a lifetime. I cannot thank everyone enough for their wonderful support each and everyday. I am so very excited to head to Des Moines on Tuesday to meet with the 100 girls that will be competing for the title of Iowa State Fair Queen! It will be a completely different experience being on the other side of things in competition.

Crowning @ Woodbury County!

2011 Woodbury County Queen, Kelsey Orr. She placed 3rd at the State Fair!

New Queen Kali!

Family friend Randy Wright! :)

Queen Cheri!

Sandy's turn!

Kossuth County Queen, Jordan Bjustrom!

I will update how things are going next week! Have a good one :)

A Little Help Is Always Nice

Hi everyone! I have realized through my blogging experience I have been able to reach corners of the world I never would have thought of before. I thought it would be the perfect opportunity to ask for a little help from all by blog followers!

This past July, I entered a National Anthem Contest through FMC Crop Inc. Through their new product, Anthem, they started a scholarship contest for students involved in 4-H and FFA. I submitted my video and now is the time to vote to select the top four finalists! The four videos with the highest number of votes will be filmed on national television and will receive a scholarship. If you could help with this opportunity for me I would be greatly appreciative!

All you have to do is click on the link below and cast your vote for my video (which is under my name!). You can vote once a day until August 23. Thank you everyone! :)



http://www.fmccrop.com/grower/Anthem-Singing-Contest.aspx

Home Sweet Home :)

Every year I look forward for some time at the O'Brien County Fair to show off my 4-H exhibits, compete in the shows, and hang out with all my fair friends. Even with a crown on my head, this year was no different! Last Saturday began judging for non-livestock exhibits and thankfully my sister Krayton and I finished all our projects by midnight the night before! It was definitely crunch time! I was fortunate enough to send four projects to the Iowa State Fair and Krayton will be sending five.

On Monday evening it was time to give up my county crown. With my co-partner in crime (O'Brien County Fair King), Jeremy Maass, we said our good-byes. I was so very fortunate to represent O'Brien County and its 4-H program. I have truly been shaped as a person by the leaders, peers, and activities it has offered me. During my good-bye speech, I managed to thank everyone except Krayton until I remembered at the last minute. I felt terrible, but Krayton is such a good sport about it. I promised her she would be the first person I would thank in my speech at the state fair! At the end of coronation Alexa Albert and Bryan Goettsch were crowned the new 2012 O'Brien County Fair King and Queen. Congratulations!

This wasn't the end to my fun at the fair! On Wednesday evening, Bill Riley Jr. was willing to come and emcee our county's very first Bill Riley Talent Search! For a first go-around, I felt it went very well. The rain came halfway through the show, but I feel it is safe to say, no one minded one bit!

All good things did come to an end, and I finished my 4-H career on Thursday evening. This year's fair was filled with memories with my friends that will last a lifetime. Thank you O'Brien County!

Right after the fair, I traveled to Lucas County in Southern Iowa on Friday morning. On our way there, Dad thought he should make a stop through a Chevy dealer in Lake View. I was asleep when we pulled in at the time. I realized we had been stopped for awhile, so I got out to find Dad talking with a sales guy. Turns out Dad wanted to take a pick-up for a spin. He ended up buying it! This may be one of the most expensive pit-stops we have made so far! In Lucas County I was honored to judge and crown three wonderful girls to be crowned their respective county queen. They even gave me a box of chocolates from the old time candy shop, Piper's, in town. They went great with our meal from Applebee's while watching the Olympics Opening Ceremonies!

Last but not least, I went back to my roots yesterday to Plymouth County. I don't believe I have missed one Plymouth County Fair my whole life. It was such a blast to walk around with the fair royalty and help out for a day. I got to help display items on the quilt auction, do a radio interview on KLEM (I did that as Little Miss Pigtails a long time ago!), and sing the National Anthem at the Grandstands before the DemoDerby. Of course, I squeezed in a few games of BINGO for tradition's sake.

It has been a wonderful week as queen! There are only two more stops for me before heading to the Iowa State Fair once again. It is crazy how fast this year has gone!

Lucas County Queens

KLEM Radio Interview

Plymouth County Fair Royalty and I. They were so much fun!

O'Brien County Fair King, Jeremy Maass

"Vintage Royalty"

New Royalty!

Dad's New Ride!

A couple more :)

Two more Queens are crowned after judging this week! I made stops in Poweshiek County and Pocahontas County to judge some wonderful queen contestants. On Wednesday, Dad and I traveled to Grinnel to Poweshiek County! Sadly Alexis Fergeson, the 2011 Poweshiek County Fair Queen, was sick with an 101.4 degree temperature as well as strep throat. I got to know her at the state competition last year, and enjoyed her immensely! It was 100 degrees outside already, so I can imagine how miserable it would have been! The competition went one and Aly Jones was crowned the new 2012 Poweshiek County Fair Queen. She will represent her county very well in August! 

Crowning Aly!

Poweshiek County Fair Queen Contestants

Last night I went to Pocahontas to once again join the eleven girls I had judged a week previous. They all looked stunning in their formal gowns. (This is my other favorite part of judging competitions...its like prom all over again!) The 2011 Pocahontas County Fair Queen, Tori Stevenson, gave a bittersweet farewell to the large crowd. She did a great job! Congratulations to the new queen, Hannah! She was an absolute joy to meet her...can't wait to see her again at state!

I seem to be running on reserve battery power lately. I forget how tired I am at times until I get into the car for a long drive! This morning I got to sleep in for awhile for the first time in a long time! That's what summer is all about, right? Well, I won't get much sleep in any time soon because the O'Brien County Fair starts on Saturday and I'm still working on getting the 4-H projects ready! I wonder if my goats will even be able to walk in the show ring? On Monday I will crown the 2012 O'Brien County Fair Queen. I got a "survival kit" ready for her and crown box decked out in pink. I can't wait to see who it is!

See you all this week at the fair!

2012 Miss Pocahontas County and 2012 Little Miss

All the Pocahontas Contestants...my crown makes me look tall!

Queen Tori and I :)

Busy, busy, busy! And some kings

We took the opportunity to snap some pictures by my brick on the Bill Riley stage!

 Hey everyone! I realize I was a little slow to update my blog after this crazy weekend! It was spent all over the great state of Iowa in five very short days. Friday I spend judging a wonderful group of girls in Pocahontas County; on Thursday I will go back to "Pokie" to crown one of these lovely ladies! On Saturday my sister Krayton, Mom, and Lora Vaske traveled south to Des Moines for the Corndog Kickoff at my "other home," the Iowa State Fairgrounds! The Blue Ribbon Foundation holds this event to raise money for the one and only Iowa State Fair, and it is one AMAZING event! For two hours we grazed around trying all the (somehow free) fair foods. What more could a girl ask for? I even managed to try my very first infamous turkey leg and Gizmo. I don't know why I hadn't tried them before! After filling our bellies, Bill Riley Jr. served as Master of Ceremonies for the auction. This auction was absolutely wonderful Some items sold for over $20,000! Some people really love the Iowa State Fair, and it is amazing that it has that much support.

Pie time at the auction!

Helping Mr. Bill Riley Jr. out at the auction

I think Krayton liked it too!

Gotta have a corndog at the
Corndog Kickoff!

Sunday morning we kept moving East to Washington County, which is just south of Iowa City. There I got to judge a great group of girls! The community in Washington is highly supportive of the coronation. Every seat in the theatre was filled! Mariah Carey, 2012 Miss Iowa, was there to emcee for the night; she is an absolute joy to be around. In January she will compete at the Miss America Pageant in Las Vegas. Good luck Mariah! Once the night was over, Lexi Marek was crowned the Washington County Fair Queen. She will do great at the Iowa State Fair! 

Miss Iowa and 2011 Washington County Queen Shawn Sieren

All the Washington County Queen Contestants...such an awesome group!

Goofing around with Miss Iowa!

New Queen Lexi!

This guy owns the barns that were completely covered in signs just outside
of Washington. Such an amazing place!

Check it out!

Finally on Monday, we headed home, but not without stopping at the state softball tournament in Fort Dodge to watch Gehlen Catholic play. It was my first time at the tournament, and it worked out perfect for us to stop by even though I have been so busy! I'm keeping my wristband! That night I went to the Sioux County Youth Fair to crown their new queen. Each of the girls did a talent portion during the show, which was a great addition! They also added their very first "Little Miss" contest, which was adorable! Brooke Jacobsma took home the crown...can't wait to see her at the State Fair! 

Yesterday afternoon I went to Ida County to judge another queen contest as well as my very first KING contest! It was very interesting to see the guys perspective on my "If you were a plant, what would you be and why?" question. There were no flowers this time around! I also got to spend some time with my very own O'Brien County Fair King, Jeremy Maass for a few hours to discuss what we are planning for the very soon crowning of the new O'Brien County Fair King and Queen. The fair starts this Saturday, and I am so very exciting to spend the week on my home grounds and with my 4-H family. 

Today I'm off to Poweshiek County Fair! So long everyone!

Sioux County Fair Queen Sara Kleyer!

Queens!

All the Ida County Contestants

The very first Ida County King!

2011 Ida County Queen, Michaela Else

Newbie Queens

The past few days I have been buzzing around Iowa high and low judging and crowning new queens! I’m actually typing this as Dad and I head home from Bloomfield, Iowa from Davis County. With my Pillow Pet, laptop, and Dad’s conversation in tow, the ride hardly gets boring!  Here’s the update on the past few days of travel.

Dakkota and I before judging in Montgomery

On Tuesday I was so excited to go and visit one of my best friend from queen competition Dakkota Druivenga! After a day at the pool (which I definitely needed to get rid of my stubborn softball tan lines!) I was honored to be a judge for the Montgomery County Queen Competition. They had a record fourteen girls run! We started judging around 8 on Tuesday night and didn’t finish until about 11:30; it was quite the night, but I loved every second! Their queen will be crowned in a week…it is killing Dakkota not to know!

Montgomery County Queen Contestants

Interviews for the local T.V. station. 

The "Queens" with Mr. President!

The new Davis County Fair Queen, Emma Griffen,
State Fair Board President Gary McConnel, and I after crowning.

On Wednesday morning, Dad picked me up after spending the night with Mom and Krayton in Omaha with our cousins. We made the trek across Southern Iowa to Davis County and I was surprised to meet up with Iowa State Fair Board members Gary McConnel, Jerry Parkin, and Bob Schlutz. After talking with Gary, I realized how much I missed my “state fair family.” It is truly a blessing to have them in my life. I also judged their queen contest all afternoon and had the honor of announcing the winners at the coronation. I thought Davis County did a really unique thing for their contestants. Each girl had to invent a product to solve a problem they have experienced at the fair at one point in time and they were so creative! It was a great addition to their coronation. The 2011 Davis County Fair Queen, Cecil Knapp, and I were also asked to speak on the local TV station LIVE! The last time that happened I was at the state fair!  Congratulations to their queen, Emma Griffen, she will make a lovely queen! 

Future Hawkeyes!

Before leaving, Gary McConnel thought it would be great to introduce me to some fellow Hawkeyes as well, who are also going to play baseball and football this fall! We snapped a few pictures and Dad and I were on our way home!

A Little Too Much Fun

Here I am in the midst of my "queen tour!" It is crazy to think I have a little over a month left in my reign and it is the busiest and, I may add, the funnest part of my experience! On Saturday I was asked to judge the Marion County Queen Contest in Knoxville, Iowa, home of the 2010 Iowa State Fair Queen and my wonderful friend Lacy Stevenson! There were nine OUTSTANDING contestants and after a little over six hours of interviews and stage questioning Emily Klootwyk was crowned the new queen! This was my first time watching another crowning other than my own and my sister Sterling's. I think my face was bursting at the seams! It is so exciting to see another girl begin her own "queenship." 

My schedule is in full peak and I also went to the Cherokee County Queen Contest on Sunday and Woodbury County Queen Contest to judge this afternoon. I cannot believe the amount of work these coordinators do to get these girls ready for judging! Demi Dunn, Cherokee Queen Coordinator, is an absolute gem. Their 14 contestants were so very well prepared and the atmosphere was a blast to be in! Props to her! Plus, I got to spend time with my roommate Sara Peters from the competition in Des Moines. I love all my queen friends! The queens have not been announced yet so I can't spill the beans...sorry!

Mom and I would like to start coordinating the O'Brien County Queen Contest and it is great to see how the different contests run. This week is filled with contests! Tomorrow I will be heading south with Mom to Montgomery County and Dad will be taking me Wednesday to Davis County where Iowa State Fair Board Member Gary McConnel lives. Get excited for the next few days!

The beautiful queen Katelyn Sanders and I :)

Marion County Queen Contestants

Where the judges get to hang out! Weird to be on the other side of things. 

2012 Queen of Marion County, Emily Klootwyk

Royalty!

The Cherokee County Queen Contestants with Sara and I

Had a blast with these girls!

The AWESOME judges and coordinators...such an awesome group!

Queen friends until the end!