‘23 4-H Queen Will Reign Over Fair This Week

By: Betsy Reason

Avery Williams is the newly crowned Miss Hamilton County 4-H Fair 2023 Queen.

“It’s such an exciting moment,” said the Llama Trekkers 4-H Club member, the daughter of Tobin and Nicole Williams, after being crowned 4-H Fair Queen on Friday night at the 4-H Fairgrounds in Noblesville. Master of ceremonies was Adam Good, and the pageant theme was “Making Memories.”

This year’s 4-H Fair kicks off Thursday and continues through Tuesday at the 4-H Fairgrounds.

“At the 4-H Fair, I’m most looking forward to spending this last year just looking at all of the projects and being with my friends and everyone I’ve grown up with in this program,” said Williams, No. 10 among 11 contestants.

Williams is a 10-year 4-H’er and her favorite project is the Llama project, which she has shown all 10 years. The 4-H Llama is her only project this year.

What advice would she give to a new 4-H member? “The advice that I would give to a new 4-H member is to try new things, to reach out into the community and step out of your comfort zone and make friends along the way,” she said during the onstage question as she modeled a dark green evening gown.

How does it feel to be crowned queen? “Unreal. I was not expecting this,” she said.

The 2023 Herron High School graduate will be a freshman in the fall at Purdue University studying animal science.

Her high school activities included Riley Dance Marathon, Herron High School varsity volleyball and leadership council.

Why did she want to compete in the 4-H Fair Queen Pageant? “I decided to join the contest this year because it’s my last year, and I’ve never done it, and I always watched the court during the fair. And it looked like a really great experience to see all of the projects, so I decided to try it out, and I’m so glad I did.”

She joined 4-H in third grade after learning about the program during a 4-H open house at the Fairgrounds. “It just looked like a good community to be a part of,” Williams said. “I’ve stuck with it ever since. I just love it.”

She has completed 28 4-H projects during her 10 years in 4-H.

Williams enjoyed spending the past two months readying for the pageant, including this month’s workshops, modeling stage practice, rehearsals and more, and making new friends, as they prepared for the pageant.

“I’m so proud of every single one of them,” she said of her fellow contestants.

Williams said she got to know all of the contestants. “This is such a good group of people.”

She said the 2022 Fair Queen Faith Hittle helped contestants prepare for the onstage questions, which, she said, “we did not know ahead of time.”

What best prepared her for this experience? “I feel like my 10 years of 4-H helped out a lot with this, learning how to communicate and be a leader.”

Favorite food at the fair? “The funnel cakes,” she said.

Joining Williams in the Queen’s Court are first runner-up, Mary Rose Wahnsiedler, Indianapolis, daughter of Ken and Cathi Wahnsiedler, and a member of Carmel 4-Star 4-H’ers 4-H Club; second runner-up, Sophia Beeson, Fishers, daughter of Jim and Karen Beeson, Fishers Showstoppers 4-H Club; third runner-up, Meghan Haws, Noblesville, daughter of Matthew and Denise Haws, Clover Kids 4-H Club; fourth runner-up, Sophia Hulen, Cicero, daughter of Christopher and Lisa Hulen, Llama Trekkers 4-H Club.

Mac Smith, Sheridan, the daughter of John and Kristy Smith, a Sheridan Ag 4-H Club member, was named Miss Congeniality, an award voted on by the contestants, with traits such as being friendly, hopeful, cheerful and enthusiastic.

Contestants were judged on the basis of personality and beauty, with judging divided into three categories with a total of 200 points: Category 1, Professional Wear, black dress pants and white dress shirt (40 points); Category II, five-minute interview with judges (100 points) with points based on professionalism and ability to converse; Category III, formal wear (60 points) based on modeling, stage presence and poise.

Other contestants were Grace Fox, Fishers, daughter of Kevin and Lori Fox, Mudsockers 4-H Club; Chloe Zerr, Noblesville, daughter of Mark and Becky Zerr, Llama Trekkers 4-H Club; Lynette Bratton, Carmel, daughter of John and Patricia Bratton, Horse & Pony 4-H Club; Valerie Adams, Sheridan, daughter of Chris and Jennifer Adams, Sheridan Ag 4-H Club; and Grace Allee, Noblesville, daughter of Jonathan Allee and Cassia Rhea, Carmel 4-C’s 4-H Club.  

To be eligible for the pageant, a contestant must be 16 years old and no more than 20 years old by June 1 and must be a current member of Hamilton County 4-H or completed her previous year in Hamilton County.

Queen awards include a flower bouquet from Adriene’s Flowers & Gifts, Noblesville; crown from 4-H Queen Pageant donors; sash and $50 from Hamilton County 4-H Council; Picture frame, 8-by-10-inch picture and gift favorites from Pageant donors; meals at the 4-H Fair, Hamilton County Extension Homemakers; gift favor, 2022 Fair Queen Faith Hittle; gift, Always in Stitches, Noblesville; and milkshake coupons, Hamilton County Farm Bureau Inc.

Also, during the evening, there was a presentation of scholarships, 4-H Tenure awards and presentation of 10-year members.

-Betsy Reason writes about people, places and things in Hamilton County. Contact The Times Editor Betsy Reason at betsy@thetimes24-7.com