County Fairs are Important

What are some of your favorite memories from when you were a kid? Were they in the summer, or on a special trip? I have a lot of favorite memories, and most of them took place in the summer at the Henry County Fair.

From the young age of 5 years old I have always attended my county fair. It is always the last week in June, and is the best time of the whole entire summer. Being this young I wasn’t really sure how much work went into putting the fair on. I just went to look at the cool farm animals, and ride all of the rides of course.

As I grew up I started going to more of the events, and learning what the fair was actually about. I competed in the pageants, I knew that the farm animals were there for kids up until the age of 18 to show in the local 4-H group, and I knew this was place where people from all over my county could come together and work alongside of each other to better agriculture in the state of Illinois.

This all sounds really beneficial right? The problem is many states are cutting the budget for county fairs to save money. This is a problem for all of the kids who are showing their animals, participating in the pageants or talent shows, or just going to show support for our area.

As Miss Henry County 2015 I was able to attend the annual Northern Zone Meeting where they discuss the budget and what is happening to all of the fairs in the northern part of Illinois. This was very beneficial to me because it made me want to make a difference. I want to spread the awareness of how important county fairs are to our youth, and the community.

At my fair we are very good about fundraising. I was the MC for a trivia night, and in the next week I will be attending a BBQ. Both of these events will or have raised quite a bit of money. The best part is, the Henry County Fair is debt free and we are able to provide fun for everyone.

I am so excited to see where the future takes this amazing place that will forever be a memory.

My Director took this photo of me petting one of the calves that were at the fair this summer.

 

 

Promposals

It is that time of year again. Prom is right around the corner and there is much to do before the big day. You have to pick out the perfect outfit, find the perfect date, make reservations, and order flowers. There is a lot to be done, but to most high school girls finding a date is the most important.

Having a date to prom is the most important part, but this is not the only thing high school girls care about. How the guy asks you is a completely different story. This was still true even when I was in high school. Promposals are a thing, and I do not think they are going away any time soon. If anything they are just getting bigger and better.

At my school you are only allowed to attend prom your junior and senior year, meaning I only got asked to prom twice. Both times I was asked in pretty cute ways, but I think now a days people expect even more out of the guys in the way they ask you to prom.

Recently I was on Facebook and as I am scrolling through my news feed almost every other picture is these elaborate promposals. For example I saw a couple who took a trip to Chicago for the weekend and then the guy had made a sign and did the asking right next to the been. His sign the read “I’ve been wanting to ask you to PROM”. Cute and corny right? Another example that I have seen is a girl who has helped raise pigs all her life was asked with one of her pigs, and again a cute sign.

Yes, these are fun and interesting ways to be asked, or to ask someone to prom, but what happened to the normal way of asking a person flat out “Will you go to prom with me?” I mean it wouldn’t really change my mind if someone asked me in a cute way or not, but it is fun, and is something that a lot of people are doing now.

I am looking forward to seeing what the next couple years has in store for promposals. Will they keep them, or will it become something even bigger and better?

Even though this isn’t my promposal this is how I got asked to homecoming…same thing right? This was taken by my boyfriend right before he asked me to homecoming.

My Spring Break Experience

In the early weeks of spring we students are entitled to our own spring break experience. The school offers an alternative spring break for students, but many of us choose our own destinations that fancy us. For example just out of my group of friends we split up into three different areas. We went to Gulf Shores, South Padre, and in my case on a cruise to Mexico.

My trip started off with a 10 hour drive to New Orleans. Blasting music, taking pictures, napping every other hour, and stopping about four or five times to eat. If anyone knows me at all I cannot handle long car rides. I get really antsy and uncomfortable sitting in a car that long, but this trip was different. I was excited to arrive, and happy to be on my way to my very first cruise.

After arriving in New Orleans we boarded the boat. As soon as we got on we took our bags straight to our rooms, and put our swimsuits on. This first day on the boat we didn’t leave until 8:00 p.m. This was a bummer because we would not be in ocean waters until later that morning. The next day we had a whole day out at sea. It was about 80 degrees outside, and very sunny. We used this day to relax, and get used to our surroundings.

The next day we were up at 8 a.m. and had arrived in Progresso. We had purchased an all inclusive package for the day, and spent the whole day eating authentic Mexican food, laying by the ocean, and meeting a lot of new people. When we were leaving we stopped at all the souvenir shops before getting back on the boat. I purchased about 5o of the adorable tie bracelets…This was a really fun day for all of the people in my group. It gave us the chance to get to know each other a little better.

Many days were spent like that day in Progresso. Only the following day it was in Cozumel. I want to talk about the cruise as a whole though. This was honestly a great experience and a lot of fun. I can say I met many friends from Nashville, or Western Tennessee. Every night we also had dinner around 8:00 p.m. We had gotten so close to our waiter, and he was able to share things about his life with us, and about our cruise that were so interesting. You meet so many people traveling and that is what I love.

I highly recommend going on a spring break. Whether it is with your family, or a great group of friends. It is a learning experience, and one I will never forget.

I had someone from the resort take this picture on my phone in Cozumel.

Giving up the Title

I am given 365 days to represent my county. I am given 365 days to represent Henry County. I am given 365 days to be a role model. I am given 365 days to be a leader. I am given 365 days to be Miss Henry County Fair 2015.

This year has truly been a great experience, but now it is my time to give up the title to the next girl. She has a lot to look forward to! She will be an ambassador of agriculture for our county. She will be participating in numerous charity events throughout her reign, and competing at the state pageant in January against 70 other girls. She will win over $6,000  in cash prizes, and even a car to drive during fair week!

Why should someone want to do this? I will tell you. It is so fun, and it prepares you for so much in your future. It is also a chance to wear a crown and represent yourself and your county for a whole year. It is a time where you can be yourself, but also learn how to become a better version of yourself.

Within my year some of my favorite memories were meeting new people. The people that you meet throughout the year end up becoming part of your family. I have had the privilege of having a whole pageant family. For example I have a little miss and a jr. miss that I had the opportunity to show them the ropes of what being a fair queen actually entails. I have had the best director, who treats me like her own daughter. doing my hair, makeup, and even buying me those occasional cute dresses that she see’s on sale.

If any of this sounds like something you might want to participate in please do not hesitate to join your local county fair pageant. It is worth your wile!

This picture was taken by my pageant director during fair week!