Anderson named Henry County Fair queen

MT. PLEASANT — Winfield’s Maddie Anderson took the crown for Henry County Fair queen, while Alexandra Farley took Miss Congeniality and first runner-up to Anderson in the queen contest held in the Wright Pavillion in McMillan Park Wednesday evening.

Anderson was one of five contestants to compete in the contest. Others were Alexandra Farley, Haley Rohdy, Kaitlyn Lee and Allie McArtor.

Anderson took the crown after a day of hard work, multiple outfits, interviews and tough questions. They competed in Interview, on stage question, casual attire, business attire and formal wear categories.

The public portion of the contest took about an hour with queens showing off their multiple outfits including business, casual and formal wear.

The public portion included an onstage question.

Anderson pulled ahead of the pack in her onstage questions with a clear and concise answer to the tough question.

She was asked what qualities would she look for in a queen candidate.

Anderson responded quickly and firmly, “Honest, hard working and community minded.”

In an interview, Anderson elaborated on her answer to the onstage question.

“A queen should be honest with everyone around them, then you want to help everyone in your community and volunteering is very important,” Anderson said.

Anderson, the star pitcher for Winfield-Mount Union’s softball team and an avid 4-H member, wanted to step out of her comfort zone and do something different.

“I actually wanted to do this because it is way out of my comfort zone. Public speaking is not usually my thing, but it was fun,” Anderson said.

Anderson was crowned by 2019 Henry County Fair Queen Sophie Lousbury at the ceremony.

Anderson is the daughter of Matt and Kerri Anderson and the sister of Anna, Grant, and Colin Anderson. Anderson plans on attending Indian Hills Community College this fall to study physical therapy and play softball.

This was the first year the queen contest introduced junior queens into the contest.

The 2021 and first ever Henry County Fair junior queen was won by Ashlynn Beauchamp and runner-up was Jacie Campbell, both from Mt. Pleasant.

Beauchamp was glad that she won, with a big confidence boost, but also remembered that all the girls around her did great as well.

“I am really happy, and I am confident in myself and all the other people around me. My friend Jacie was right up there with me, and I am so proud of everyone,” Beauchamp said.

She had never done anything like the queen contest and decided to get out of her comfort zone.

“I really wanted to do it because I’ve never done anything like this, and doing things that get me out of my comfort zone is good for me,” Beauchamp said.

All Contest Results: