Lizzie Ford Crowned Miss Logan County Fair 2015 and Preslee Sherren, Little Miss

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[August 05, 2015]  LINCOLN - Before a large crowd on Tuesday evening, eleven lovely and talented young women and fifteen adorable little women from around Logan County competed for a title and a chance to represent the county.

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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