I thought it was going to be fun and so easy. At least that is how it looked when I was the nervous teenager wearing a formal dress and more makeup than usual.
At 17, I was terribly shy, and my parents tried all sorts of ways to get me out of my shell. When the Lionesses nominated me for Homecoming Queen, my parents were thrilled. I was thrilled too … and scared to death at the same time.
How could a girl who fed the pigs after school, climbed trees and helped bale straw ever do well in a beauty pageant?
After my Mom and the beauty parlor did their magic, I was amazed at my reflection. Okay, I thought, maybe this will work.
The interviews were in a church basement that was pleasantly cool. I still remember the serious faces of the judges and my struggling to get the words out when they asked the questions. To this day I cannot remember what questions they asked me. I remember that they had trouble hearing my soft voice and asked me to repeat an answer. When they said thank you, I think I ran out the door.
The best part of that day was the ride in the back of a red convertible, a huge bouquet of flowers and the trophy I got as runner-up. I survived to go on to college and took an acting class that helped me overcome the shyness.
As a mother, I got to help one daughter prepare for modeling school in Los Angeles and watch another daughter participate in the Miss Ohio Pageant. Two daughters were wedding models. I’d helped all three prepare for scholarship and job interviews, so I thought I understood what to look for as a judge.
As I read the applications of the nine candidates for Clark County Fair Queen, I found myself identifying with their backgrounds.
Here were nine teenage girls who grew up around farms, helping with feeding, field work and breaking ice in the water tanks in the winter. They were 4-H veterans and FFA officers, and so accomplished in so many different ways. On top of that they volunteered in the communities, kept their grades up and were active participants at school, church and sports. On paper the nine candidates were just amazing. I couldn’t wait to meet them.
The 10-minute interviews went quickly and I found myself imagining how each gracious young lady would shine as Fair Queen. And by the way, they all did better than my interview in that church basement years ago. Much better.
However, the next week I was a nervous wreck as the pageant got closer. How could we possibly pick five of the nine for the next round? I liked them all.
At the Fair, the nine were stunning in their evening gowns, and I found that to be amazing since most had animals they were showing or fair obligations out in that hot humid weather. How did they manage to be so beautiful?
After the next round of questions, we retreated to privacy to tally up the votes. It was close, but we were able to select five to ask the final question.
The final part was over quickly. Each of the five had a great answer to the last question, and off we judges went to make a final decision.
“How could we possibly choose?” I thought. Hey, this “judge thing” was supposed to be easy, easier than being the contestant. Right?
I liked them all. They were all so beautiful, gracious, intelligent and sweet, even though they were a bit nervous. Each one had a list of impressive accomplishments and each was enthusiastic about the fair. Voting was close, but the three judges were able to choose a Fair Queen.
I am quite positive that Lauren Nichols will do a marvelous job representing Clark County as the 2014 Fair Queen. I just wish we could have declared them all royalty.
After a week of reflection, I hope it was a fun experience for each young lady and that they will fondly look back at their time in the spotlight.
And I hope that someday each will get a chance, like I did, to experience how difficult it is to be one of the judges.
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