Des Moines County Fair Queen Competition

Tuesday was my first day off in the past 2 weeks. I had queen duties to do for 14 days straight, it went fast. The saying is true that time really fly’s by when you are having fun. I was able to catch up on a few things at home on Tuesday, I worked out and played basketball, wrote thank you's, cleaned my room and bathroom. I was a very busy girl all day. That night I was able to see my family as well which was great I haven't gotten to see them much as we have been on the road all summer. It was my Grandpa Hunter's 83rd birthday. Most of my mom’s side was able to come and help celebrate with us. We enjoyed a lot of homemade food, laughs, water volleyball, whirlpool making, and of course homemade ice cream! It was a great night of food, family and fun. It was really nice to relax and enjoy my family.
Yesterday my parents and I traveled over and down to Burlington for the Des Moines County Fair Queen Competition. Burlington is right off of highway 34. We left around 11 so we were able to have enough time to stop and see my Great Aunt and Uncle who live in Burlington. We do not see them often so while we were down in that territory we thought it would be great to stop in. They are both doing well and it was great catching up with them. After spending sometime at their place we met Jessie Hutchinson who is the Coordinator of the pageant for dinner. Jessie was the 2005 Iowa State Fair Queen and was able to be my chaperon for the last two days of the State Fair last year. To see Jessie meant a lot for me because I really got to know her when she chaperoned me and I truly look up to her as a role model. She is such a great beautiful lady. She puts on a very well organized queen pageant. She asked me to judge the stage portion of the competition that evening, which I was totally up for doing. The competition was held in the Southeastern Community College gymnasium which is right by the fairgrounds. There was a surprise visit from Gary McConnell the Vice President of the State Fair Board, I did not expect him to be there but it was great that he was able to make an appearance. We judged the girls on two different outfits, and two different speeches that evening. All of the girls' formal dresses were so pretty, it is great to see their personalities come out in their outfits. In the end you all know how it goes only one girl can be crowned the fair queen and this year’s Des Moines County Fair Queen was Katie Clover. She was very deserving and did a great job on her stage portion of the competition that I judged. I had a wonderful afternoon and evening as I got to see many people that I hold close to my heart. Thank you to Jessie for having me be a part of the competition!


God Bless,
2010 Iowa State Fair Queen
Lacy Stevenson

Louisa County Fair Queen Competition and Johnson County Fair

Monday the 25th of July my parents and I loaded up in the car once again. I can practically call the car we travel in my second home. The back seat has really turned into another room for me as you can find a pillow, clothes, makeup, shoes, perfume, a computer and a few other things. My parents and I always joke and tell me to go to my room or go sit in my corner. We have found a lot of humor in different things we have done this summer in our travels such as this story. The competition was held in Columbus Junction which is right off of highway 92. I arrived around 11 and spoke with the judges about my year and answered any questions they had about judging and what to look for in a fair queen. I was not able to judge this competition as I had duties to do in Johnson County at 3. There were 9 contestants that were running for Louisa County Fair Queen. They were a very sharp dressed, sophisticated group of girls. I enjoyed having lunch with them, sharing stories, and of course taking photos. It was great to be a part of it all even though I could only be there a couple of hours. It was a lot of fun meeting all the girls. I wish each and every one of them good luck with anything they do in the future. I want to thank the Michelle and Ashley for inviting me to spend some quality time with the queen candidates.
Once 1:30 rolled around we were off to the Johnson County Fair, it was nice to be able to do two appearances in one day. This was able to happen because Johnson County and Louisa County are next to each other. Before we headed out of Columbus Junction we had to make a stop at the famous swinging bridge also known as the "lovers leap bridge". This bridge is a well-known landmark in this area of Iowa. It is 262 feet in length; it was first built in 1886 and then was rebuilt in 1922. I walked across it and back, it was a little scary as I felt that I might go overboard if I had lost my balance. It was really neat to see this landmark though and now be able to say that I walked across it. There will be a picture posted later. I was asked to make an appearance at the Johnson County Fair I participated in many different activities throughout the afternoon and evening. Those activities include MCing the sexiest legs contest, handing out ribbons for the rubber chicken throwing contest along with participating in it, eating fair food :) , talking on the radio, meeting the fair queen candidates, and speaking at the 2011 Johnson County Fair Queen Ceremony. This was a very special fair queen crowning as one of my friends that I have gained through showing cattle was crowned the 2011 Johnson County Fair Queen. I was so glad that I was able to be there and see her get crowned. I am very proud of her and she is going to be a great representative for her county. I wish her the best of luck at the Iowa State Fair Queen Competition. I was lucky enough to be able to see my long lost friend Kelsey Dierks that I played AAU basketball with, she was actually in Iowa City and made a special stop at the Johnson County Fair to see me. It meant a lot that she did that and that I was able to see her. What a great gal thanks Kelsey!! After a long day it was time to head home. I want to thank Brenda and the Johnson County Fairboard for having me make an appearance at the 2011 Johnson County Fair. My parents and I truly enjoyed our visit. Only 15 days till the Iowa State Fair, remember “Nothing Compares” to the Iowa State Fair. J

God Bless,
2010 Iowa State Fair Queen
Lacy Stevenson

Wayne County Queen Contest

This past Sunday afternoon my mother and I went down to Corydon for the Wayne County Queen Competition. We both were asked to judge this along with another young lady who is a couple years older than I am. It was a very fun energetic panel of judges. We judged the princess, prince and Queen Competition. The princes and princesses were all so cute, like I have said before it is very difficult to judge these little boys and girls. All of them were dressed up all so nice and looked like they were going to a formal dinner. The parents were allowed to sit in on the prince and princess competition, and during the prince competition a little boy kept looking over his shoulder at his mom and shaking his fist at her. It was the funniest thing I have seen. Along with his fist shaking he would also stick his tongue out. Long story short he was leaving on time and he stuck his tongue out at me so I shook my fist back at him with a funny face, needless to say he didn't come back in for the second interview. I hope he wasn't scared of me. I felt terrible but at the same time I was smiling, it is those kinds of memories that I will look back on and get a good laugh. The little boy and girl that was selected as prince and princess will have a blast doing all the different activities that they will have at a fair and will be a lifetime experience for them. There were 7 young ladies in contention for the 2011 Wayne County Fair Queen. They went through 2 interviews an individual interview and group. They had also prepared a speech for us who were about themselves, community involvement, the fair, and why they feel they should be the Wayne County Fair Queen. It was a very tough decision for us to make as each young lady did a tremendous job on their interviews and their speeches. The girl that we choose was a very poised, mature, well rounded young lady and we knew that she would represent Wayne County very professionally but at the same time have a great time doing it. She will be very caring to the prince and princess which go with her to some of her duties throughout the fair.  My mother and I really enjoyed judging the contest and had a wonderful afternoon. I would like to thank the queen coordinators Heather Moorman and Tia Carpenter they did a wonderful job with the contest and thank you for asking us to judge.


God Bless,
2010 Iowa State Fair Queen
Lacy Stevenson

Clarke County Fair and Pre Fair picnic in Warren County

This past Saturday my parents and I hopped in the car to make our way to the Clarke County Fair. This fair is held in Osceola. Osceola is right off of highway 34. I was excited to make this appearance as I got to see Randy and Judy Brown and Jerry Parkin. Randy Brown is the Iowa State Fairboard President, he is from Osceola. Jerry Parkin is a member of the State Fairboard and is the South Central district representative. Clarke County has an amazing fairground. They just built all new facilities in 2005 in a new area which is located west of Osceola. I was able to get a tour from Randy and Jerry of the fairgrounds and we were also introduced at the end of the hog show. I enjoyed eating dinner in their nice air conditioned building where all 4-H projects are put on display. Once we were done at the fair Randy and his wife Judy invited us over to their house for awhile before we all headed to Warren County. We spent the afternoon with Randy and Judy sharing stories, memories, and laughs. Thanks for the hospitality it was great spending time with both of you. Around 5 we headed to the Warren County Fairgrounds where their pre fair picnic is held. This is a night of food, entertainment, scholarships, and crowning the fair queen all leading up to the start of their fair. Randy and Judy were also there along with Jerry and his wife Randall. My brother and his fiancé were able to be there along with my Grandma Helen and parents. There was a wonderfully decorated table that was reserved for us and special name tag thanks to Kaylee Miller. Shout out to her she is a great gal! I was asked to hand out the Barbra Dykstra Memorial Scholarship. It was an honor for me to be asked to award this scholarship because Barb Dysktra was my Aunt. She passed away a year and a half ago. I know Barb was watching over me smiling as I gave this scholarship out to a very deserving girl who also knew Barb very well. I wish that Barb was still here to be able to experience everything with our family and I could share all my great experiences I have had as being the 2010 Iowa State Fair Queen, but I then remember she is above watching it all happen. :) After scholarships were handed out we had some entertainment from four ladies who named themselves the Vintage Fair Queens. These ladies performed a dance, gave advice to all the fair queens’ candidates and promoted the new free stage Warren County had added to their fairgrounds this year. They were hilarious. Once the Vintage Fair Queens got off stage it was time to crown the 2011 Warren County Fair Queen. The young lady who was crowned will do a great job representing Warren County both at the County and State level. It was a very fun filled day and I was glad to be a part of both occurrences.

God Bless,
2010 Iowa State Fair Queen
Lacy Stevenson

Harrison County Fair

            From Jones County on Thursday night we had a long drive to Harrison County which I had to be there by 10 am. We drove through the night till about 4 and posted up in a motel, then woke up at 8 to arrive at Harrison County on time. This will probably be our longest road trip we literally went across the whole state of Iowa that night. A prop to my Dad as he drove through the night, there is no way I would have ever been able to stay awake. Thanks! I was asked to make an appearance at the Harrison County Fair for their cattle show that day. This year their fair was held in Dunlap normally it is held in Missouri Valley but due to water and flooding they did not want to chance having their fair under water and not being able to proceed with all shows and events. I enjoyed myself as I watched the cattle show all morning and was able to chat with their County Fair Queen and Princess. They are also one of the few counties that have a king and prince. I think that it is really neat to also give the guys a chance to participate in interviews and competing. While the cattle show proceeded Herald Bertleson a man that is on the Harrison County Fairboard came up with an idea of the Queens and Princess to do a fun showmanship class. He announced it as the “Battle of the Tiaras.” I thought this was a great idea as it got us involved and gave a little fun to the end of the cattle show. Since we all show different species I showed a bottle-bucket calf, Briar the Queen showed a hog, and Shelby the princess showed a sheep.  The twist to this class is that we had to show all three species. They had us switch about every two minutes until each one of us had a chance to show each species. Of course there was no winner, it wasn’t about that, it was about us having fun and being able to enjoy that experience. This will always be a memory to me as I loved showing livestock and for me to get in the ring and show just for fun was great. I enjoyed my morning and evening at the Harrison County Fair watching the cattle show, mingling with fair goers, eating fair food, participating in the showmanship class, and receiving a nice flower bouquet. Thank you to Herald and his wife D and the Harrison County Fairboard for having me at their fair.

God Bless,

2010 Iowa State Fair Queen

Lacy Stevenson

The Great Jones County Fair

I have to make a correction it was supposed to be Davis County instead of Washington in my last post title. I apologize. This past Thursday, my parents and I loaded up the car to head northeast to Monticello, where the Great Jones County Fair is held. Monticello is right off highway 151 and 38. It was about a 3 hour trip for us but completely worth it. Once I got there I was able to see John Harms, a member of the Jones County Fairboard along with the Iowa State Fairboard, it was great to see him as he always has spunk and energy to him like a teenager. John hooked me up with tickets to Jason Aldean as well as meet and greets. ahhhhhhhahhahahah!!! Thank you so much John. Before the concert I was given a tour of the fairgrounds by the past Jones County Fair Queen Kristin Luckstead, who is still one of my good friends that I have stayed in contact from the queen contest. Shout out to her as she is a wonderful young lady and it was so great being able to spend some time together. Along with Kristin, the 2011 Jones County Fair Queen Tara Manternach also showed me around the fair. She has been representing Jones County very well and will continue to represent them at the state level. While touring the fairgrounds we were able to run into some very important people who also represent the Iowa State Fair that were at Jones County Fair scoping out some different things. Those four were Tonya Cook special events director of the Iowa State Fair, Gary Slaghter CEO of the Iowa State Fair, Scott, and Tony. It was good chatting with them and it was great that Tara was able to meet them. Also while going around the fairgrounds were couldn't skip out on the awesome food that is at the Great Jones County Fair. We shared a deep fat fried cheesecake it was absolutely delicious and I enjoyed a very large breaded tenderloin that tasted amazing. Probably one of the best tenderloins I have had. After all the eating and walking around it was finally time for my brother and I to meet Jason Aldean. I decided to take my brother Kirn with me to meet Jason Aldean because he is a huge fan of Jason and Kirns birthday is in August. I don't think I could have given him a better present! You are welcome Kirn I love you. Jason hugged me!!! I was so excited. He was a very nice man and very good looking may I add :) Thompson Square and Chris Young opened for Jason. The concert was absolutely amazing and it even started raining. It was picture perfect. I was so glad that I could make it to the Great Jones County Fair as I was able to see many people that are close to me and that I knew as well as seeing the fair and meeting new people. Thank you to John Harms and the Jones County Fairboard for having me at the fair. I thoroughly enjoyed myself :)


God Bless,
2010 Iowa State Fair Queen
Lacy Stevenson

Busy Busy Busy...Appanoose, Marion, and Washington County Fair.

Oh how I have been busy. This week has just seemed to fly by, I cannot believe that it is Thursday already. This past Monday my parents and I went to Centerville for the Appanoose County Fair. I was asked to be a judge for the Bill Riley Talent Search that evening. We arrived a little earlier then I was supposed to, but we used our time wisely by going through the cattle and hog barns as well as eating at the 4-H food stand. The Appanoose County Fair Queen was crowned prior to the Bill Riley Talent Search Show. I spoke to the crowd and the girls about my experience as the Iowa State Fair Queen and a little bit about myself. The young lady who was crowned queen was a very involved gal and she will represent her county well at both the county and state level. This was the 2nd talent search I have judged this summer. Judging these shows are just as tough as judging a queen competition because each young adult or sprout is talented in their own way. The talented youth that come compete in these shows are unbelievable. I was honored to be asked to judge and be a part of the Appanoose County Fair Monday evening. I had a wonderful time!
Tuesday I was able to be in my hometown for the Marion County Fair. Yay! This day will always be one to remember for me. I was asked to hand out ribbons at the beef show. It was great to be able to watch the beef show that day as just a year ago I was in the ring with my steer showing. It was actually kind of weird watching and not participating. I was able to hand out the Grand Champion Market Steer trophy that after noon to a young man who was very deserving of it and had a great steer. This meant a lot since that trophy has been in my house the past two years and I know that Hagen and his family will be proud of that trophy just like my family and I were. Normally after the beef show when everyone is on the wash rack washing their steer or heifer a water fight starts, well this year since I wasn't on the wash rack I figured I would make myself useful by helping one of my friends with her steer but actually what I was doing was starting the water fight. Katherine Yoder and I got a great water fight started that ended up lasting 4 hours. It is always a tradition to have a water fight at county fair so I definitely kept the tradition going. We were actually having so much fun parents got involved. Those are the types of memories that I cherish from our county fair, those crazy water fights that involve 40 people that happen every year. If I get ahold of the picture of all of us that were a part of it I will make sure to upload on here. It was a great afternoon for a water fight as the heat index got as high as 131. Crazy! Tuesday evening we held a Bill Riley Talent Search at the fair. Bill Riley was able to be there to MC the talent search. We were grateful to have him there as he is a very busy man traveling the state of Iowa going to different talent searches leading up to the state fair. The talent search went very well as I was impressed with the talent that came from Marion county and surrounding counties. Everyone enjoyed a watching wonderful talent and even though it was scorching hot out the show went on. My day was complete as I had pork loin with our county fair group and enjoyed a few laughs. I loved spending the whole day at the fair, as I miss being an exhibitor.
Yesterday my parents and I road tripped to Bloomfield for the Davis County Fair and their queen competition. I was asked to be a judge for the competition. The judging started at 1 with individual interviews and then a group interview. There were 5 girls running for Davis County Fair Queen. All of them interviewed very well but you know how it goes there can only be one winner. I was able to see Gary McConnell which is a member of the State Fairboard, he is from Davis County. We were able to spend some time with him when we had a break between interviews and the audience portion of the competition. It was great to see him and his wife Linda they are both great people and I am glad that I have been able to be acquainted with them. Thanks for the hospitality! That evening the girls had to answer one question in front of the audience and share a children’s story they had made that was about an actual event that happened with them at the Davis County Fair. It was neat to see all the different stories that were put together for this part of the competition. Davis County has a great fair queen to represent them at the county level as well as the state level. She was a very sweet girl. I enjoyed myself the whole day judging, meeting the girls and other fair goers, and also seeing Gary and Linda, they both mean a lot to me. Thanks to all 3 county fairboards and queen coordinators for having me at their fair. Hope all is well with everyone!! The Iowa State Fair is in 21 days!!! :)


God Bless,
2010 Iowa State Fair Queen
Lacy Stevenson