Lein, Lusz crowned as county’s royalty By Tricia Goecks Editor Boone County has a new queen and princess. Their names are Clairissa Lein and Kenzi Lusz. The pair received their crown and sashes from outgoing queen Olivia Johnson and Little Miss Olivia Wendell in a night that was filled with beauty and pageantry. In what could have created a repeat of the Rodney Atkins’ concert experience, a heavy thunderstorm on Tuesday night soaked the grandstand track and left the track flooded and muddy. The worst of the puddles was in front of the stage. Workers brought in mounds of dirt to repair the track and to absorb much of the water. The grandstands were packed with the friends and families of the candidates, many of them were seated together in boisterous cheering sections. Q98.5 personalities Steve Summers and Shannon Zimmerman took the stage as the masters of ceremonies. As Summers took to the stage, he carried a camera as he photographed the crowd that filled the grandstands. The muddy track forced the white stretch limousine that brought the Little Miss and Miss Boone County contestants to come in on a slightly different path than in past years. The crowd erupted in loud applause as the candidates emerged from the limousine and the audience strained to get their first glimpse of the contestants. The Little Miss candidates were adorable in their brightly colored gowns as they lined up on the stage. The Little Miss contestants were Madison Dittbenner, Brittney Stanfel, Tanna Jo Brody, Audrey Rosenberger, Makayla Winnie, Brianna Teunissen, Ataley Smith, Jacqueline Ruder, Miranda Fischer, Maci McCoy, McKenzie Rabe, Riley Powers, Elinor Ellingson, Kenzi Lusz, Dakota Kramer, Hailey Hughart, Melrose Martinez, Madison Weckler, Isabelle Schadle and Allison Hritz. The girls ranged in age from 6 – 9 years old. After the Little Miss Candidates exited the stage and took to their seats to watch the pageant, the limousine carrying the Miss Boone County Fair 2014 candidates arrived. The candidates wore black t-shirts and white shorts. The nine queen contestants are Deborah Mitchell, Margaret Altintop, Cassandra Johnson, Quierra Sample, Alyssa Oblinger, Jilliana Paul, Alysha Cummings, Clairissa Lein and Molly Rueff. The Little Miss Candidates returned to the stage as they each introduced themselves and showed both poise and confidence in stating their name, age, city, school and sponsor. One of the highlights of the evening was when the Miss Boone County contestants took to the stage to perform a dance routine to Abba’s “Dancing Queen.” In addition to dancing with Johnson and Wendell, the first ten Little Misses joined the contestants to perform in the number. The Little Miss Contest is starting its eleventh year and honored the first ten Little Misses by including them in the number and by introducing them later in the evening. The last time many in Boone County saw these girls, they were little girls. Now many of them are teenagers. The returning Little Misses are Julia Foti, MacKenzi Powers, Madalynn Visser, Amanda Appelhans, Breyon Johnson, Savanna Brugger, Sarah Bimmerle, Chloe Konieczki, Emma VanAcker and Tallory Wendell. Johnson and Wendell returned to the stage to give their farewell speeches. Wendell spoke of the highlights of her year including the IOU Halloween parade, decorating a Christmas tree for Hometown Christmas, and participating in many activities at the fair. She thanked pageant director Sharyn Geske, her wattle bottle carrier Dave Geske, Savanna Hansen and Raquelle Sample, the Fair Board, Lyle Lee, and her mom Jill Wendell. Tallory praised Johnson for being a role model and her new best friend. “I am so sad this year is over. I hope the new little miss will have the same experiences I had,” Wendell said. In Johnson’s farewell speech to the county she said “It feels like just yesterday I was standing on this stage praying for the title.” Johnson recalled the events she attended at the Boone County Fair including the watermelon eating contest, rodeo, car derby and attending animal shows. In calling this year one of the best years of her life, she thanked Lyle Lee, the Geskes, Hansen and Sample, her boyfriend and Wendell. “I wanted to make a difference in my county. But I truly believe that my county has made a difference in me.” The Miss Boone County contestants were judged during several categories including their interview, platform speeches, pageant walk, swimsuit and fishbowl interview questions. The judging scored the contests’ personal interview, beauty of face and physical condition, stage presence, and speech/communication skills. The top three contestants were announced as Quierra Sample, Jilliana Paul, and Clairissa Lein. With the previous scores cleared, the contestants’ poise and confidence in responding to two additional questions determined their final order. Summers asked the young women “what would you do as queen to attract people from surrounding counties to come to the Boone County fair?” and “where do you stand on organic vs. conventionally raised agricultural products?” There was a noticeable reaction in the audience to the second question as many in the audience sat straight in their seats to hear the answer to that question. “It is your decision and it should not matter,” Sample replied. “Organic is most important because it is healthier for your body,” Paul responded. “Conventionally raised products are a lot better for you considering that I am a farmer’s granddaughter,” said Lein. Her response drew the largest applause from the audience. While the final judging scores were being tallied, Fair Board president Lyle Lee presented thanked the audience for attending the fair and praised Johnson and Wendell. “It has been an honor and a privilege to be fair president with these two girls they represented our county to the fullest that any queens have done. They are always queens in our heart of the county,” Lee said. Next, Zimmerman announced Kenzi Lusz as Little Miss 2014. Lusz, who was contestant number 14 will be the 2014 Little Miss. She is the daughter of Richard and Kelly Lusz. The nine year old attends Immanuel Lutheran school, just like her predecessor Wendell. Sample was announced as Miss Congeniality; Cassandra Johnson won Most Photogenic. Rueff won Miss Interview and Oblinger was named as the Gold for the gold winner. As the top three contestants held hands near the front of the stage, Sample was named as second runner up. Paul won first runner up and Lein was named as Miss Boone County 2014. Lein is the daughter of Timothy and Julia Lein of Belvidere. The 2014 Belvidere High School graduate will attend Educators of Beauty in the fall. The farmer’s granddaughter Callie has been a nine year member of 4-H in The Young Producers, Chief Pioneers, and County Clovers where she shows cattle and was awarded the Grand Champion Rate Again Steer. She also showed and was awarded Grand Champion Western Pony at the Boone County Fair. Lein shows promise to be an excellent cheerleader of the Boone County Fair. In her fishbowl question, she revealed she had never missed a day of attending the fair.
Posted on: Sat, 09 Aug 2014 17:14:07 +0000
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