12 vye for Jr. Fair king, queen, princess

VW independent/submitted information

With the 2018 Van Wert County Fair quickly approaching, the Junior Fair Coronation Committee has announced this year’s candidates for king and queen and species prince or princess.

The coronation ceremony will be held at 2 p.m. Sunday, August 26, in the Farm Focus Arena at the south end of the fairgrounds. Those planning to attend should bring lawn chairs for this event, as there is a limited amount of seating available on bleachers. Following the coronation will be the Cloverbud Graduation and Show and Tell Awards at 3 that afternoon, 4-H Style Show at 3:30 p.m., and the 4-H awards ceremony at 5 p.m.

Queen candidates include the following:

Betty Vorst, daughter of Chris and Sandy Vorst, is a senior at Delphos St. John’s High School. She is competing for Junior Fair queen. Vorst is a nine-year member of the Venedocia Lads and Lassies 4-H Club, where she is currently serving as club president. She is a member of the Junior Fair Board and is a 4-H camp counselor.

At St. John’s, Vorst is a three-year varsity team member of the basketball team, and a two-year member of the track team. She is actively involved in Student Council, where she has served as president. Vorst also is member of Future Business Leaders of America, where she serves as treasurer; is a Junior Optimist; and a member of National Honor Society.

She is a member of St. John the Evangelist Catholic Church in Delphos, where she is a Mass server, greeter, and Eucharistic minister. She is currently employed at the Delphos Swimming Pool as a lifeguard. Her future plans include attending The Ohio State University in the autumn of 2019.

Brooke Bockey is a senior representing the Spencerville High School FFA. She is the daughter of Doug and Sherry Bockey and has two brothers, Zach and Dylan, and a twin sister, Torie. Bockey is competing for the Junior Fair queen and poultry princess.

She is the current Spencerville High School National Honor Society president, the FCCLA treasurer, FCA co-leader and serves as secretary of the Spencerville FFA chapter. Bockey has also been involved in cross country for two years and track for three years. This year she was part of the 4×800-meter relay team that advanced to regional competition.

Bockey also currently serves on the Van Wert County Junior Fair board serving on the Herdsman, Poultry, Education, and Fundraising committees. She loves to teach and encourage younger children about animals and the health and care that goes into them. She also loves to see the look on children’s faces when they get to show their successes after all the hard work. Bockey takes great pride in showing her market chickens and is very excited about showing in the swine showmanship and market class for the first time this year.

Working in the agricultural field is what Bockey wants to continue after high school. She plans on attending college for a degree in animal science, as well as a degree in ag business management.

Torie Bockey is a senior representing Spencerville High School FFA and is a candidate for Van Wert County Junior Fair queen. She is the daughter of Doug and Sherry Bockey and has two brothers, Zach and Dylan, and a twin sister, Brooke.

Torie Bockey is the current vice president of the Spencerville National Society, vice president of the FCA, president of FCCLA and serves as reporter for the FFA. She also participates in many other school events and community activities.

As the previous FFA president, Bockey and the team spent many hours working in the community on “Make a Difference” Day, raising chickens for the local food pantry, and being the chairman of the Jeb Johnson event that raises money for the Children’s Hospital in Columbus.

Bockey is very involved with her church youth group and works in the nursery with the children and toddler program. She also serves as a counselor of her church’s Vacation Bible School program each summer. Bockey has a great interest in pursuing a career in the health of special needs children through occupational therapy or pediatric medicine.

She also currently serves on the Van Wert County Junior Fair Board on the Barn Maintenance and Logistics Committee, and is the chairman of the Livestock Sales and Promotion committees.

Bockey will be taking her poultry chickens to the fair this year, as this is the third year she has shown at the fair — and where she has placed first in her class and was the intermediate poultry showman.

At school, Bockey participated in basketball for two years, track three years, and this past year set her personal best in the 1600-meter run. She was also part of the 4×800-meter relay team that moved into regionals for the first time in many years. Bockey also participated in cross country and hopes to advance to the state meet this year, as she was only one meet away from it last year.

Bockey feels that the influences from her family and friends have been the greatest experiences of her life so far, noting that it’s so nice feeling loved and guided all at the same time.

Kassidy Klinger is the daughter of David and Sandy Klinger. Klinger is a senior at Crestview High School and is a member of the Crestview FFA and the 4-H Exchange Club. She enjoys being a part of both groups because of all the wonderful experiences she gets to participate in. At the Van Wert County Fair, she shows dairy beef feeders, market hogs, and rabbits.

Aside from 4-H, Klinger is a member of the National Honor Society, Red and Blue Club, FCCLA, and the Key Program at Crestview. She is also involved in the St. Mary of the Assumption Catholic Church youth group.

Klinger has been in 4-H for nine years and greatly enjoys all the friendships that 4-H has offered her.

Chloe Sidle is the daughter of Sara Short and Brent Sidle. She is a member of the Ohio Challengers and is currently the club secretary. She has also been the recreation officer for the club.

Sidle is a senior at Van Wert High School, where she participates in Beta Club and had the most volunteer hours of the entire club. She is also a scholar athlete and Renaissance card holder for the past three years. She attends Trinity Friends Church and is part of its youth group, and has volunteered as a bell ringer for The Salvation Army and is a member of Big Brothers Big Sisters. She enjoys helping BBBS children and being someone they can always lean on, especially in difficult home situations.

Sidle plans to attend Wright State University majoring in the nursing medical field.

Species candidates include the following:

Rayana Thatcher is a senior attending Crestview High School and is competing for beef or poultry princess. She has been involved in Harrison Jolly Boosters 4-H club since the third grade. Once she reached high school she became a member of the Crestview FFA. She is a proud member of the FFA and is thankful she had the opportunity to participate in the chapter. Within the chapter she was the 2017-2018 secretary and helped lead multiple different events.

She enjoys raising livestock — especially her family’s herd of purebred Angus cattle. She shows livestock projects at the Van Wert County Fair; including performance lambs, dairy beef feeders, beef, and turkeys. Thatcher is also a member of the Van Wert County Junior Fair Board and enjoys helping prepare for the fair and working together with all of the other members on projects needed at the fair. Her hard work shows during weigh-in and work meetings.

She also volunteers at the Van Wert County Humane Society, where she gets to help socialize the dogs and cats and gives a helping hand in cleaning kennels. While Thatcher loves volunteering her time, she also works part time at Westwood Car Wash.

She also enjoys hunting and fishing with her dad and grandpa, being at the campground when she has time, and helping out with friends in her free time.

Christina Keen is the daughter of Joe and Ellen Keen and is competing for the title of Dairy Princess.

She attends Parkway High School/Vantage Career Center as a junior. Keen is a first-year member of the Udder Dairy Club and holds the reporter and historian job in the club. She also is involved with showing rabbits and doing woodworking projects at the fair. The reason she got involved in dairy is because she grew up with dairy cows and she wanted to show at the fair like her mom and grandpa did. She wants to represent dairy to let people know where meat and milk comes from.

Reagan Priest is the daughter of Bob Priest and Kara Kreger. She represents the Shooting Stars 4-H Club and had been club president for two years. Priest is competing for the equine princess title, and is a senior at Van Wert High School.

She has shown horses at the Ohio State Fair five times and has one reserve championship. Priest also shows pigs at the fair and has been a camp counselor. Priest is also involved with the 4-H ambassadors to inform children about 4-H and to get them involved, whether it is taking a project or going to camp. She would like to represent the equine species because she loves the animals and want kids to love them as much as she does.

Lillian Hempfling is the daughter of Chuck and Sue Hempfling and a sophomore at Delphos St. John’s High School. She is competing for Dairy or Goat Princess.

Hempfling was a member of the Delphos Pathfinders, where she started as a Cloverbud and was in the club for four years. Now she is a member of the Udder Dairy Club. Hempfling has previously volunteered for the Relay for Life in Delphos, putting up the luminaries and selling shaved ice, which was donated back for fighting cancer. She has volunteered at Canal Days selling shaved ice and beautifying the alley in Delphos. Hempfling has been treasurer of the Udder Dairy Club for the past two years. She also has helped with the Milk Mustache contest for the past six years to help promote milk.

Hempfling has won junior, intermediate, and senior showman awards with her animals. She takes dairy heifers, market goats, and turkeys to the fair. Hempfling is the sixth generation of her family’s dairy farm. She has grown up helping her siblings with their animals when she was not old enough to be a 4-Her. She is a first year member on the Junior Fair board, has helped with the pig race fundraiser with getting sponsors, and has volunteered to stand at the gate to collect money for Old Fashioned Farmers Day.

Hempfling said she wants to take on more responsibilities with the Junior Fair board in her coming years. She would like to represent goats or at the fair to show her leadership skills to promote the dairy industry. Hempfling was past dairy princess and can use her past experiences to grow in her involvement in the Junior Fair.

Abby Bradford is the daughter of Robert and Melissa Bradford. Bradford is going to college at Wright State Lake Campus. She has been president of the Bunny Hoppers 4-H Club for the past three years and was also the health officer and vice president of her club. Bradford also took photography as a fair project and became involved in showing rabbits because she thought they were a neat animal and her cousins also took rabbits.

Bradford would like to represent rabbits to encourage younger members to participate at the fair.

Chloe Kroeger, 13, is the daughter of Dave and Shelly Kroeger. This fall, Kroeger, who a candidate for swine princess, will be an eighth grader at Delphos Jefferson Middle School. At school, she is a member of the Junior High football and basketball cheerleading squad and track team, and is involved with the band.

In her spare time, Kroeger enjoys serving others through her church and community and spending time with family and friends. She attends St. John the Baptist Church in Landeck.

Kroeger is a five-year member of Venedocia Lads and Lassies and has taken a variety of projects to the Van Wert County Fair, as well as the Ohio State Fair, including swine and cooking and grilling projects. She has served as safety officer, recreational leader, and treasurer of her club.

Through both church and 4-H, Kroeger has many opportunities to serve her community.

The Junior Fair king candidate is as follows:

Brett Schumm is the son of Mike and Robin Schumm of rural Willshire. He attended Crestview, where he was a member of the FFA, National Honor Society, Student Council, and the golf, baseball, and basketball teams.

Schumm is representing Crestview FFA, where he received the honor of State Greenhand, Chapter Farmer, and DeKalb leadership awards. He also has earned his State Farmer degree. While in FFA, Schumm served as chaplain and president, and attended FFA Camp Muskingum. He also participated on the Farm Business Management team that placed second in the state.  He also placed ninth in the Co-op test and took part in the creed speaking and prepared speech contests.

Schumm is a 10-year member of Barnyard Buddies 4-H Club. He currently serves as club president and has served as treasurer. During his time in 4-H, Schumm has taken projects in cooking, woodworking, welding, beef, and hogs to the fair. He is a four-year camp counselor, two-year 4-H ambassador, and four-year member of the Junior Fair Board, where he currently serves as president.

Schumm is a member of Zion Lutheran Church, where he participates on the dartball team. He is also a firefighter with the Wren Fire Department

Schumm is a candidate for the Van Wert County Junior Fair king in order to be a role model for younger members of the Junior Fair. He wants to show them that, with hard work and determination, people can reach any goal. He would also like the opportunity to meet new people and face new challenges. Schumm said he feels that this opportunity would give him a chance to give back to the Junior Fair after receiving so many benefits over the past 10 years.

Crown bearers for the coronation ceremony are Ellie Myers, daughter of Clint and Camile Myers, and Waylin Harting, son of Halie and Colin Harting