Bethany Reiterman was crowned the 2016 Fayette County Fair Queen at Sunday’s opening ceremony, which also marked the beginning of the 137th Fayette County Fair.
At the end of the ceremony at the McDonald’s Grandstand, the 2015 Fayette County Fair Queen, Abbie Noble, spoke about how appreciative she was to have the opportunity to serve as queen, and said that it was one of the greatest years of her life. She also said that two major highlights of being fair queen she remembered fondly were visiting fairs all over Ohio and competing at the Ohio Fair Queen Pageant in Columbus. She said it was truly amazing what the state does for the competition.
“I want to thank the members of Fayette County,” Noble said as her final thank you. “You guys come out and support the fair every year and made last year an amazing experience for me and I am thankful for that. Good luck to you ladies, I have had the pleasure of meeting you over the last couple years. Whoever is selected today, I know that Fayette County will be represented well.”
Noble then announced Ginna Climer and Alexis Schwartz as the members of the court and that Virginia Schappacher was named as the 2016 First Attendant. The only person left to crown was Reiterman. Reiterman gave a brief introduction of herself and answered a few questions about the upcoming week following the ceremony.
“I take horses and hogs to the fair and I am also on the junior fair board,” Reiterman said. “I think all of the memories and all of the friends who get to meet are what make the fair great. Getting to compete and show off all of the hard work you have done over the summer is just amazing. I am so excited to try out all of the events and get all of the knowledge I can throughout the week. Thank you to all of the people who made this possible, my family for always supporting me and my friends for always being there to make me laugh. Come out to the Fayette County Fair because it is going to be a great year.”
Sunday’s ceremony began with an introduction of the commodity queens, fair attendants and their escorts. Junior Fair Board President, Riley Evans, introduced various guests to the ceremony, including representatives of state officials, county commissioners, local law enforcement leaders and many others. Local boy and girls scout troops then presented the colors as those in attendance recited the Pledge of Allegiance. Hannah Ellenberger performed the Star-Spangled Banner.
Senior Fair Board President Robert Schwartz then took time to honor Will and Marjorie Braun for continued support of the Fayette County Fairground renovations. He said thanks to their contributions, the fairgrounds now has an updated Fine Arts/Breezeway/Mahan Building, a new cattle building and much more. He also took time to honor county engineer Steve Luebbe and his office and crew with the Jim and Eddie Kirk Fair Supporter Award.
“Last year was the first time we unveiled the new cattle barn, but due to some inclement weather and some construction delays we were not properly prepared for the signs and the dedication,” Schwartz said. “This year we are very proud to not only have the signage in place, but also the dedication at the ends of the barn for Mr. and Mrs. Braun. Each year, the Fayette Ag Society, along with Jim Kirk, elect a person or persons who have been instrumental in making a difference in this fairgrounds. This fairgrounds just doesn’t happen, we have a wonderful board that oversees it, but we have to have a lot of help. This year the Jim and Eddie Kirk Award goes to Steve Luebbe and his employees at the county engineer’s office.”
In light of the recent shootings of police officers, the junior fair board decided to honor the local law enforcement that works each day to make sure the county stays safe. Evans spoke a little on how important these men and women are to our continued safety.
“We want to thank the men and women who keep us safe every day and night,” Evans said. “As a nation we have grieved over these senseless acts against law officers. Today, the Fayette County Junior Fair Board would like to recognize two important agencies in our community and the people that reside in our county, the Fayette County Sheriff’s Office and the Washington Court House Police Department. The junior fair board members wrote thank you cards for both departments. We would like to present the cards and these plaques to Sheriff Vernon Stanforth and Police Chief Brian Hottinger, who give leadership to our officers of the law.”
