CLEARFIELD – For the 24th time, the fair queen, fair queen contestants, their families, the fair board, the fair queen committee, distinguished guests and friends gathered together Sunday for a banquet to celebrate and briefly introduce the 2012 Clearfield County Fair Queen contestants.
This year’s contest has eight contestants vying for the coveted and prestigious title of Clearfield County Fair Queen. Those contestants are: Misti Bruner, Danielle Farmery, Chelsea Folmar, Victoria Garner, Darcie Grenier, Brandye Hull, Patricia Laird and Christine Whited.
Distinguished guests in attendance for the 24th annual fair queen banquet were: state Rep. Matt Gabler; Clearfield County Commissioners Mark McCracken, Joan Robinson-McMillen and John Sobel; Sam Hayes, former Secretary of Agriculture; Mike Kerr, guest of honor; and Wade Cowder.
Other important groups at the banquet were the Fair Board Members and the Fair Queen Committee. The fair queen committee is made up of former Clearfield County Fair Queens, and coordinated by Brenda Morgan, board member of the fair. The former queens are: Leah Carr Albright, Jana Duttry Davidson, Rachel Carr Davidson, Shaina Williams Franson, Halee Kephart and Jamie Orcutt Straub.
Brenda Morgan welcomed everyone, and said how her committee had so much fun working together. She also told the contestants, they are going to grow in ways they never thought they would.
The invocation was given by Bill Williams, and dinner was provided by Buster’s Sports Bar.
Guest speaker, Mike Kerr, discussed the importance of the fair queen program, agriculture in Clearfield County and the Queen’s Lamb project, which is celebrating its 10th anniversary this year. Kerr has been with the Department of Agriculture for 33 years, and said his job is to help educate.
Kerr said there are three goals of the fair queen program. Those being to promote the Clearfield County Fair, promote agriculture and raise funds for needy children.
Just think about those three goals, I think they are tremendous goals, Kerr said. And we think about agriculture. Is agriculture important to us? Do we need to promote it? Most certainly, Kerr confirmed. Agriculture is very important to us; it’s going to be more important in the future to help us meet our challenges, he added.
“Agriculture is essential to our lives as Americans”, Kerr said. “No matter what you do or where you go, as we all grow older, agriculture is going to be more important.”
98 percent of Americans don’t live on a farm, Kerr said, but agriculture is very relevant. Agriculture is responsible for one out of 12 jobs in the United States, and one out of seven jobs in Pennsylvania.
My association with the queen’s committee has been great, it’s been positive, Kerr said. Who said he really support this program.
“As we heard already this evening, it’s second to none,” Kerr said. “This program is well-structured and respected throughout the state. I think we should all be very, very proud of that.”
Kerr then explained his relationship to the Queen’s Lamb program. Ten years ago, Kerr explained, how they were brainstorming on how to get the fair queen more involved in agriculture at the Clearfield County Fair. They thought about doing a steer and a hog, but decided on a lamb.
“The idea was simple, we’re going to get this lamb, and the fair queen is going learn how to feed it, what to feed it, when to feed it, learn how to sheer it, learn how to sell it and then that lamb would be sold the last day of the fair at the livestock sale,” Kerr said.
Half of the proceeds from the auction go to the Children’s Miracle Network and the other half to the junior livestock sale scholarship fund.
Kerr also explained, Sam Hayes, has purchased and donated the lamb to be raised and taken care of by the fair queen for ten years. Hayes also keeps a vested interest in the lamb from year to year, making home visits and kept contact with all the queens.
“These fair queens, their court, everybody involved, they’re learning about what it takes to raise animals, they’re learning about agriculture, they’re learning about the challenges of agriculture,” said Kerr.
Following an overview of the fair queen contest, each of the eight contestants had the opportunity to briefly introduce themselves and say a little about themselves. After their introduction, Bob Day, emcee for the evening, would ask them a question.
Melanie Swartz, 2011 Clearfield County Fair Queen had a message to the contestants and those in attendance. Swartz explained the first year she ran for fair queen she didn’t know much about the fair or about agriculture.
“The fair that I now call MY fair,” Swartz said. “To say that this program has changed my entire life doesn’t even touch it. Not just the knowledge I have gained. My message for all of you girls sitting out there, is being you is the best you can be, and this program will bring out the best you that you can ever be.”
The 2012 Fair Queen competition will be held at the Grandstand Stage at the Clearfield Fair Grounds, Sunday, July 29 at 3 p.m.
