Fair king, queen named; 4-Hers honored

DAVE MOSIER/independent editor

Nathan Profit and Lauren Buchanan were chosen as this year’s Junior Fair king and queen, while 4-H members received special awards as part of Thursday’s activities at the 2011 Van Wert County Fair.

No one was likely surprised at Profit’s being king, since he was the only candidate for the position. Buchanan, a Parkway High School senior and the daughter of Louise Buchanan, is a nine-year member of 4-H. She also a 4-H camp counselor, a Buckeye Ambassador and a member of CarTeens.

A member of both the Interstate Exchange Club and Junior Leaders, Buchanan said she was very happy to be the new Junior Fair queen.

“It feels really great … all this hard work paid off, and I’ve loved every minute of it: giving back to my community, going to those 4-H meetings and getting emergency fair booth stuff around at 5 a.m. — it’s all worth it,” she said.

She was also a big booster of the 4-H program in general. “It is by far one of the best leadership programs a kid can have,” Buchanan said, adding that she was looking forward to representing Van Wert County around the state.

Profit, a senior at Van Wert High School and the son of Eric and Jenni Profit, said he was also pleased to be named Junior Fair king, even though he had no competition for the job.

Profit is a member of Ridge Buckeyes and Junior Leaders 4-H clubs and plays percussion in several VWHS bands.

Junior Fair queen runner-up was Bethany Army, daughter of Lynn and Pat Army and Susan Slagle and a senior at Lincolnview High School. She is an eight-year member of 4-H and was junior class vice president and FFA chapter president at Lincolnview.

In addition to the Junior Fair King and Queen Coronation, local 4-H members were honored during a special awards program in the Entertainment Tent. Awards included the Black Inc. awards sponsored by The Van Wert County Foundation (click here for a full listing of awards).

The second day of the fair was also Senior Citizens Day, with free admission for those 60 and older. There was also special entertainment for seniors and wagon tours, among other activities for seniors.

Harness racing also began on Thursday evening, while there was plenty of entertainment as well, both in the Entertainment Tent and the Gospel Pavilion.

Today is Veterans Day and there are a number of activities related to the special day. Veterans also are admitted free to the fair today.

Like senior citizens on Thursday, veterans will have special entertainment today, while bean soup and cornbread will be served free to veterans from 10 a.m.-5 p.m. in the Entertainment Tent. There will also be a Veterans Day Parade, beginning at 11:30 this morning. The parade will begin on Balyeat Avenue and progress onto the fairgrounds.

Several Senior and Junior Fair livestock shows will also begin today, including a number of horse and mule shows and poultry on the Senior Fair side. The Ryan Trentman Memorial Open Swine Show will also be held today, beginning at 6 p.m. in the Farm Focus Arena.

The Junior Fair events will include the Dairy Show, Swine Showmanship and Farrow to Finish swine show, as well as rabbit judging.

Chainsaw and other wood carvers will also show off their skills today, starting at 11 a.m. south of the Junior Fair Building.

The Ultimate Air Dogs will also begin today, with shows at 5 and 7:30 p.m.