One of these three contestants will be crowned 2023 Wabash County Fair Queen Sunday night during the ice cream social.
Maria Kennard
Hello, my name is Maria Kennard. I am the daughter of Robbie and Traci Kennard. I would like to be the 2023 4-H Fair Queen. My sister and I have always wanted to be Fair Queen and Princess together.
I am in the Hi-Flyers 4-H club. I like taking swine, embroidery, and other arts and crafts projects in the fair. This year my projects include Visual Arts Fiber, Visual Arts Food Decorating, Floriculture A, and Swine in 4-H.
Outside of 4-H I enjoy playing golf. I love going to the 4-H fair to show off what I have been working on all year and to see everybody else’s skills. I like going to the fair to see all of my family and friends.
4-H teaches and helps me better myself for the future. I would like to be the 4-H Fair Queen this year and be more engaged with the 4-H community.
I would like to thank my sponsor DWR Farms for supporting me this year!
Rhiannon Anderson
Hello, my name is Rhiannon Anderson. I am the 19-year-old daughter of Clinton and Karissa Anderson. I am an 11-year member of Barn Busters 4-H Club, a 5-year member of the Wabash Country Federation Club and a 2-year council member of the Extension Council for the Unit 25-Univeristy of Illinois Extension. I have also help for two summers with cooking school’s for the U of I Extension office where I have enjoyed working with the youth of Wabash County learning to safely prepare and cook various types of food.
I attend First Christian Church-Disciples of Christ, where I have served as a Junior Deacon and a member of the Regional Youth Council for the Illinois-Wisconsin Region. In my spare time I enjoy cooking, working at Rosati’s Pizza, and spending time with my family and friends.
My 4-H projects this year are Photography, Computer Science, Passport to the World, and Shopping in Style. Some of my favorite memories are attending and presenting my various projects throughout the years at the Wabash County Fair and the Illinois State Fair.
I am running for Fair Queen because I have always enjoyed attending the Wabash County Fair and meeting new people. I want to help promote and celebrate the accomplishments of the many young adults of Wabash County.
I would like to thank my sponsors Lathrop/Anderson Family for sponsoring me as a contestant this year!
Alexis Bertram
My name is Alexis Bertram and I am the 17 year old daughter of Zach and Jill Hunt and Todd Bertram of Mount Carmel. I am a 2023 graduate of Mt. Carmel High School. I received an academic scholarship and athletic offer from Anderson University in Anderson, Indiana where I will be attending in the fall to play softball, major in Cybersecurity, and Psychology. I have been in 4-H and a member of Town and Country 4Her’s Club for 9 years.
While attending high school, I played on the Lady Aces softball team for four years, the Lady Aces Soccer Team for two years, was a member of the National Honor Society. I graduated with high honors, and a 4.0 GPA. I have also played softball for the last 15 years for Mt. Carmel Little League, Wabash Mission and Extreme travel softball teams.
During the 9 years I have been enrolled in 4-H, I have taken on various projects that have taught me a lot of responsibilities throughout my life. I have taken Vegetable Gardening, Cooking 101-401, Poultry, Rabbits, Cat Care, Dog Care, Scrapbooking, and Food Preservation. I have won multiple Best of Show awards at the Wabash County Fair for my projects. I have also attended the Illinois State Fair several times where I have also received awards for my projects.
In my free time I do a lot of volunteer work throughout the community. I help out with the Mt. Carmel Christmas Parade, Mt. Carmel’s Christmas Uptown, District 348 0-3 program, Pre-K, and kindergarten classes. I also give softball lessons, and I umpire Mt. Carmel Little League softball games.
I would love to become the 2023 Wabash County Fair Queen because I love being involved with the fair. I have a lot of knowledge about the 4-H fair shows, I am responsible, and I have had prior experience from being the 2019 Wabash County Fair Princess. I feel that I did a great job with the many things that are involved with holding the title and that I will continue to do a great job representing Wabash County. I really enjoyed passing out awards to the winners at the fair shows, being in all of the local parades, and I loved being a two-time judge for Mt. Carmel’s Little Miss Ag Day’s Contest. I would love to be able to have this opportunity in my last years of being involved in 4-H and the fair.
I would like to thank my sponsors Fischer Family Enterprises, LLC for supporting me!