Dani Broeker wears the crown

By Brooks Taylor, Mt. Pleasant News

Four-year-old crowned county fair queen. Now, a headline such as that would attract some quizzical looks.

No, Danielle (Dani) Broeker isn?t a four-year-old, but she kiddingly referred to her age as 4 during introductions Thursday night at the Henry County Fair Queen contest because her birthday is Feb. 20.

Broeker, a member of the state-qualifying Mt. Pleasant girls? softball team, capped off quite a week by being crowned Henry County Fair queen. Broeker, who will be a senior this fall at Mt. Pleasant Community High School, is the daughter of Brent and Wanda Broeker.

Ashley Schinstock, a 2017 MPCHS graduate, was first runner-up, and Ella Francis of New London was chosen Miss Congeniality. Schinstock is the daughter of Randy and Sharon Schinstock. Francis is the daughter of David and Candi Francis.

Broeker had to touch her crown afterwards to believe her selection. ?It definitely has been an exciting week,? she said, referring to the state softball berth and now adding the fair crown. ?I was definitely surprised. All of the girls (competing for the title) were amazing. There were five other contestants who were just as deserving. I was surprised to win.?

She said the experience taught her how to communicate better with people and is anxiously looking forward to competition in the Iowa State Fair Queen contest next month in Des Moines. Broeker isn?t a stranger to the state fair and competition as she has competed in several Bill Riley Talent Shows at the State Fair.

?I am very excited for the state fair, and I want to represent Henry County in the best way possible,? she remarked.

Schinstock, who will be journeying to Knoxville, Tenn., this fall to attend the University of Tennessee and major in biomedical engineering, said she was happy to compete in the contest and pleased with her placing.

She was encouraged to participate by the Smith sisters (Kelsey and Kirsten). Both are former county fair queens and Kelsey Smith was the county?s first State Fair queen.

?I am good friends with Kirsten and Kelsey Smith, and I saw how much they grew by competing in the first queen contest,? Schinstock said as the reason to throw her hat in the ring. ?All the girls who competed in the contest were wonderful girls. I wanted a growing experience and this definitely was that.

?I am happy where I finished,? she continued. ?The girls here were amazing, and I?ve grown close to them. I think my social skills definitely improved during the competition, and I also learned to take chances.?

Kirsten Smith, the 2016 fair queen, said the experience was one she will never forget. ?This has been one of the greatest experiences in my life. Being crowned was an honor, and I wouldn?t trade it for the world.

?At state (contest), I saw 100 other girls with crowns and I wondered what I had gotten myself into,? Smith continued. ?But it was the best experience of my life and I don?t have enough good things to say about it.?

Summer Miller, co-director of the county fair queen contest with Bryce Kelly, said this year?s contest ?had an outstanding field of candidates.?

Kelly echoed Miller?s sentiments. ?Teenagers can get a bad rap for not taking responsibility or being mature, but not these girls. It takes a lot of guts to do what these girls did. It was a wonderful group of girls to work with. I couldn?t have asked for a more respectful, mature and dignified group of girls.?

Miller, a former fair queen, and Kelly, a former judge, were in their first year of coordinating the contest. ?People don?t realize how much preparation work goes into it. A lot more goes into it than people think,? Kelly stated. ?We had some big shoes to fill because it was a well-oiled machine. Summer and I and many volunteers came as close as possible to putting on as good a contest as our predecessors.?

Other contestants were Brittany Triska, Kristina Willey and Pearl Krieger-Coble.