Seven Compete for the Title of Jefferson County Fair Queen

JEFFERSON COUNTY, Pa. (EYT) – On Sunday, July 14, opening ceremonies for the Jefferson County Fair will take place at the fairgrounds’ community stage starting at 1:00 pm with the Fair Royalty Pageant to follow.

This year, a total of 24 contestants are competing for titles in three age groups.

Seven young ladies are competing for the title of Jefferson County Fair Queen. Queen contestants are scored in 6 areas of competition: Essay, Pre-Pageant Interview, Introduction, Speech, On-Stage Question, and Evening Gown Presentation. The winner will receive a sash and a crown as well as a $1,000 educational scholarship. The first runner up will receive a sash and a $750 educational scholarship. The winner will also represent Jefferson County at the Pennsylvania State Fair Queen Pageant in January 2020 in Hershey, PA. This year’s Queen contestants are:

Brianna Lynn Barnett
Brianna is the daughter of Susan and Kenneth Barnett of Brookville. She is 16 years old and will be a Junior at Brookville Area Jr-Sr High School this fall. She is a member of German club, drama club, girl scouts, First United Methodist (FUM) youth group, choir, the spring play, and she is a class of 2021 representative. She has been the Jefferson County Fair Junior Queen, Miss Spirit of Dubois, and Miss Teen Pennsylvania Amazing. She has also been the FUM youth group Treasurer. Her platform is the Humane Society.

Tia Michele Barnett
Tia is a 19-year-old Brookville native, she is the daughter of Susan and Kenneth Barnett. The platform she is choosing to promote is “Autism Speaks”. She is a sophomore at Edinboro University where she is active in Chi Alpha campus ministries, Alpha Phi Omega service fraternity, and the university psychology club. She has been on the dean’s list and has received the Antley Brevard Sociology scholarship.

Nevada Lee Hetrick
Nevada lives in Knox Dale, PA. She is 18 years old and will be a freshman at Clarion University. Her parents are Teri Stitzinger and Buck Hetrick. She has been a member of the Spanish club and art club, and she has traveled to Costa Rica with the Spanish club. She has been student of the month and received an academic scholarship from Clarion University. Her personal platform is American Humane.

Marissa Lea King
Marissa is the daughter of Amy and Jerry King from Reynoldsville. She is 19 and a sophomore at Penn State Beaver. Her platform is THON. She participates in college soccer and THON. She has also participated in high school soccer, track and field, competition cheerleading, show choir, and chorus. She is a member of the National Honor Society, and has been on the Dean’s list and was selected for PSUAC women’s soccer 1st team as a defender.

Danielle Marie Maring
Danielle is 17 years old and will be in 12th grade this fall at Brookville Area Jr-Sr High School, her parents are Charlene and Josh. She has been involved with Peer Connections, Spanish club, softball, swimming, ski club, 4H, school plays, math club, and the Special Olympics. She has lettered in softball and swimming and was the spirit princess and the snowball princess. She also participated in a mission trip to the Dominican Republic and was president of the Spanish club.

Regan Bethany Reitz
Regan is 17 years old and will be a senior this fall at Brookville Area Jr-Sr High School. Her platform is suicide prevention. She is the daughter of Celeste and James Reitz of Brookville. She is a member of drama club, art club, German club, track and field, band, concert choir, and chamber singers, and has participated in 5 high school musicals. She is the recipient of the Bronze and Silver awards in Girl Scouts. She was named Miss Congeniality for the 2018 Jefferson County Fair and 2019 Laurel Festival pageants and was the first runner up in the 2018 Laurel pageant. She has been on the honor roll for three years.

Rylee Grace Welsh
Rylee is the daughter of Erin Welsh of Brockway. She is 17 years old and will be in 11th grade at Brockway Jr-Sr High School. She is the secretary of the Brockway FFA and the Brockway High School ski club. She is also a part of chemistry club, art club, National Honor Society, mock trial, outdoor club, social studies club, varsity cheerleading, trap team, varsity soccer, Envirothon, and softball. She has received the Bronze award as well as numerous other awards for Girl Scouts, has been student of the month two times, and has received many awards for FFA. She was the April 2019 Civil Air Patrol cadet of the month. Her Platform is Autism Awareness.

Junior Queen, Princess, More Info

The Junior Queen competition consists of three sections of competition: Introduction, On-Stage Question, and Talent. The winner will receive a crown and sash, and there will also be a first and second runner up who will receive sashes. This year’s pageant has 6 Junior Queen contestants: Samantha Barber, 13, Brockway; Selena Buttery, 15, Brockway; Jacinda Gigliotti, 13, Walston; Claire Haines, 15, Brookville; Jordan Merritts, 14, Punxsutawney; and Kaydence Tyree, 14, Punxsutawney.

The Princess category also has three areas of competition: Introduction, On-Stage Question, and Talent. There will be a winner who will receive a crown and sash and two runners up who will receive sashes. This year’s Princess contestants are: Anna Brubaker, 11, Brockway; Elliana Gow, 11, Brookville; Emelia Gow, 9, Brookville; Kiah Greenawalt, 11, Punxsutawney; Carlee Lindemuth, 10, Brookville; Madelynn Melton, 8, Brookville; Nora O’Donnell, 9, Brookville; Calista Reitz, 9, Punxsutawney; Alexxus Runyon, 10, Punxsutawney; Emma Wilson, 11, Sigel; and Sophia Vrobel, 8, Brookville.

The Jefferson County Fair Royalty Pageant is free to enter and free to attend. The winning 2019 contestants will preside over the activities during the Jefferson County Fair (July 15-21) and will represent the county at community and fair events throughout the year. All information regarding the schedule and other contests for fair week can be found at www.jeffcofair.com.