Letter to the Editor

Reflecting on my tenure as 2014 Vernon County Youth Fair queen

Friday, August 22, 2014

Dear Editor:

With the end of the Missouri State Fair, I would like to take the time to reflect and share with you my experiences of being the 2014 Vernon County Youth Fair queen.

The queen competition started off two weeks prior to the fair with the queen/princess social at the United Methodist Church in Nevada.

At the social, the candidates got to meet each other and meet the previous year's queen and princess. We each got to answer a practice question, similar to one that we might have been asked during the judging, which took place the following week.

The queen/princess coronation kicked off the fair week on Tuesday, July 8, in the show pavilion at the fairgrounds.

The theme for this year's queen and princess competition was burlap and bling, so the stage was decorated accordingly.

Shortly after Kylie and I were crowned, I competed in the last night of Super Teen. Wednesday was a day filled with shows, meeting members of the community and working in the various buildings around the fair.

I had the pleasure of attending the horse and mule show, dairy goat show, dairy cattle show, meat goat show, and sheep show.

I handed out ribbons and congratulated the exhibitors as they were put in their respective places. Thursday consisted of the swine show and the Rotary tour of the fairgrounds.

I spent most of the day Thursday mingling, working the swine show, and observing rabbit showmanship.

Friday was a busy day at the fair and consisted of the Hearts-n-Hands tour (my favorite part), beef show, and chamber meeting/luncheon.

Saturday, the final day of the fair, I attended the 4-H alumni lunch, worked the appreciation barbecue and watched the livestock auction.

I encourage every girl in the county to run for VCYF queen. It is an amazing experience and it is one that I will never forget.

I would like to thank everyone for making my week as the VCYF fair queen the highlight of my summer, and thank you to all of the people who work hard throughout the year to make the fair so successful.

Cydnee Piper

Vernon County Youth Fair Queen