Miss Henry County Crowned Illinois County Fair Queen; Miss Clay County is 4th Runner-up, Miss Effingham County a Top 15 Finalist

(NEW MISS ILLINOIS COUNTY FAIR JOHNNA FULCHER AND THE REST OF THE TOP FIVE FINISHERS INCLUDING MISS CLAY COUNTY FAIR PARIS VAN DYKE)

20-year-old Johnna Fulcher of Geneseo has been crowned the 67th Miss Illinois County Fair Queen.

Johnna represented Henry County at the 114th Illinois Association of Agricultural Fairs Convention on Sunday. Johnna is the daughter of Margo and David Hohe.  She is currently attending Blackhawk College and will graduate this spring with an associate degree in art. She plans to continue her education at Carl Sandburg College to pursue a degree in dental hygiene.

Fulcher will be a summer employee of the Department of Agriculture. She will travel to about 30 county fairs and will be the official hostess of the Illinois State Fair in Springfield and the DuQuoin State Fair in DuQuoin. As queen, Fulcher’s main duty is to emphasize the importance of agriculture and county fairs to Illinois. 

Delaney Epley of Christian County was named the first runner up, Claire Oliver of Sangamon County was named second runner up, Kaylee Ford of Western Illinois Fair was named third runner up, and Paris Van Dyke of Clay County was named fourth runner up.

Congratulations to Miss Effingham County Fair Kyandra Zerrusen, who finished as one of the Top 15 finalists in this year's pageant. She is the daughter of Tasha and Matt Verdeyen and Nate and Marcy Zerrusen.

The top 15 finalists were:  Ella Horn of Williamson County, Claire Oliver of Sangamon County, Olivia Shike of Champaign County, Kyandra Zerrusen of Effingham County, Colleen Schumann of Calhoun County, Haley Bode of Monroe County, McKinley Rexroast of Warren County, Paili Davis of Georgetown Fair, Paris Van Dyke of Clay County, Annalyse Richter of Madison County, Johnna Fulcher of Henry County, Claire Meyer of Moultrie-Douglas County, Kaylee Ford of Western Illinois Fair, Elizabeth Corrie of Schuyler County, Delaney Epley of Christian County and Gracie Lindley of Bond County.

Non-finalist awards went to: Ella King of Mercer County, Ruby Crum Award; Addison Earley of Macoupin County, Best in Stage Presence; Bella Welch of Okawville, Best in Communications Skills Competition; Olivia Pawlak of McHenry County, Best in Beauty and Physique competition. Emersyn Fleisher of Knox County was the People’s Choice Award Winner.

Earlier at the IAAF annual convention, Talent Show winners were chosen. Winner in the senior division went to Mia Ward of Mercer County with a vocal solo; second place went to Nalani Day of Georgetown County Fair with a piano solo ; third place went to Seth White of Boone County with a vocal solo; fourth place went to Taylor DeWeese of Morgan County with a dance solo.

In the Junior Division Talent Show, Izzy Claudius, Serena Graham-Martinez and Anlee Jones of Schuyler County were the winners with a dance performance. Second place went to Chloe Buhlig of Scott County with a dance solo; third place went to Tatum Bonjean of Sangamon County with a dance solo; and fourth place went to Audrey Neukomm of Ford County with a piano solo.

Selected for The Friends of the Illinois Fairs Award were:  Rhonda Mueller of Washington County, Craig Gebhardt of Carroll County, Deb White of Boone County and Susie Dvorak of Stephenson County.

In total, this year's convention had more than 2,500 in attendance.