By Tom Ganser
Correspondent
The Park Stage at the Walworth County Fairgrounds Sept. 2 was the royal setting for the crowning of Abigail Jensen as the 2013 Fairest of the Fair.
Jensen, a 2012 graduate of Delavan-Darien High School, will be attending UW-Madison this fall.
Many of her accomplishments are related to her participation in FFA, including the Swine Barn Award of Excellence in 2011, Fair Royalty in 2012, State FFA Degree in 2012, gold-rated State FFA proficiencies in 2011 and 2012, the Delavan Enterprise’s Senior of the Year award in 2012 and State FFA Officer candidate in 2012.
Jensen said her favorite thing about the fair was seeing people from all over get to see all that Walworth County has to offer.
“Whether people are eating the diverse food or walking through the barns, there is a place everyone can enjoy,” she said.
Jensen will fulfill the role for one year beginning in January 2013, representing the Walworth County Fair and making daily appearances during next year’s fair.
In a move to produce the most experienced fair promoter, the fair board in recent years switched up the fairest competition, which now has its winner of the crown lead fair activities the following year.
Jensen was among five contestants who vied for the role of the top fair ambassador.
Emilie Cerny of Sharon was selected as the first runner-up to serve as Fair Royalty in 2013. Cerny is a 2010 graduate of Big Foot High School. She enrolled at UW-Madison last spring to pursue studies in Animal Science and plans on attending graduate school at the University of Illinois.
The three other contestants were Abriel Odling (Elkhorn), Megan Rasmussen (Delavan) and Mia Schultz (East Troy).
After being introduced and escorted to the stage by her father or grandfather, each contestant began by sharing a radio advertisement for the 2012 Fair that she had created.
Contestants then responded to three questions, the first two based on their background information and provided in advance, and the third drawn on stage from a fishbowl.
For her on-stage question Jensen was asked what impact she thought the crown would have on her career choices.
Jensen highlighted the listening component of communication skills she would enhance if selected to be Fairest of the Fair, linking it directly to her career aspirations as a large animal veterinarian.
“Listening is a great part of communication and I love to do that,” she said. “I definitely think as Fairest it will help with being a large animal vet, being able to talk to the owners to see what’s been going on, what’s been new, see how things have changed with their animals, and what action I could take. So it will definitely have a positive impact on my career goals.”
As someone heavily involved with animal showing at the fair in the past, Cerny was asked whether she would encourage other children and families to be so involved.
“Of course I would encourage anybody to show at the Fair. It encourages responsibility in youth. And really, the fair is everybody’s fair, so I would encourage them to make this fair their fair,” Cerny responded.
Bill Thompson served as emcee for the event. Thompson, from Lake Geneva, is a 2012 Fair Board Director.
This year’s judges were Linda Amann (Accounting lecturer at UW-Whitewater), Dale Beaty (Director of Training and Leadership for Wisconsin Farm Bureau Federation) and Karen Stiles (WTMJ Call 4 Action reporter).
While the judges were deliberating, an auction was held for baskets brimming with items and certificates for services donated by businesses throughout Walworth County that had been prepared by each of the contestants.
Auctioneer Gary Finley, assisted by 2012 Fair Board Director Gary Ellsworth who skillfully worked the crowd, raised $2,550 for the five baskets, with the proceeds going to the Fairest of the Fair scholarship program.
And as if that wasn’t enough to excite the crowd, as frosting on the cake – or more appropriately, as drizzle on the pie – Finley then auctioned the “2012 Walworth County Fair Pie” created by Fair Board Director Eileen Walsh Grezenia for $600.
Walsh Grezenia named her masterpiece “The Banana Cream Extreme” and described it as featuring “buttery, pecan shortbread crust covered with layers of rich caramel sauce, roasted pecans, fresh bananas, and highlights of homemade bananas foster infused pudding, whipped cream and finished with drizzles of more delicious caramel and roasted pecans.”
Saying goodbye
In her farewell speech, reigning Fairest of the Fair Megan Welsh highlighted the Fair as a “community.”
“Throughout this past year, I was graced with the opportunity to delve deeper into such a vibrant, caring, and involved community,” she said.
Megan recognized her mom, Kris Welsh (a former Alice in Dairyland for Wisconsin), as “Friend of the Fairest.”
Megan said her mom was the person who has been there for me through it all.
“She’s the reason that I applied to be Fairest and she has helped me get ready every time,” Welsh said. “She helps me when I’m not so happy in the morning getting up early for the Fair. She puts me in a great mood even when I don’t want to be smiling.”
With a bit of humor, Megan said one of the best parts of being Fairest of the Fair was having access to her own personal golf cart on the fairgrounds.
“There is nothing like having the privilege of a golf cart,” she said of saving her aching feet and maximizing her time at each event.
As to one of the most humbling parts of being Fairest of the Fair, Megan said it was talking to young girls.
“When the little girls see the crown, they automatically look up to you,” she said. “It may be because they are looking at the crown, but that’s how it goes.”
Megan will be representing Walworth County in the January 2013 competition for the State of Wisconsin’s Fairest of the Fairs. She left Jensen with this short and elegantly simple advice: “Always wear a smile and comfortable shoes.”
