Daily Newsletters
Account
Washington Evening Journal
111 North Marion Avenue
Washington, IA 52353
319-653-2191
Pekin student Hailey Pedrick fundraises for Governor’s Charity Steer Show
Southeast Iowa Union offers audio versions of articles using Instaread. Some words may be mispronounced.
FAIRFIELD – Pekin High School junior Hailey Pedrick has organized a silent auction fundraiser to sell decorated Christmas trees inside the Lincoln Center in Fairfield.
Pedrick is fundraising for the Iowa Governor’s Charity Steer Show, held during the Iowa State Fair. Pedrick will show a steer at the next event, to be held in August 2025, and the money she raises from it will go to the Ronald McDonald House Charities, which supports the families of sick children.
This event started when Pedrick applied for the Governor’s Charity Steer Show through the Jefferson County Cattlemen’s organization, and was accepted. She started looking for fundraiser ideas, and knew that Keosauqua does something called the Festival of Trees.
“We said, ‘Let’s do a smaller version of that,’” Hailey said.
She reached out to Teresa Huffman, who with her husband Jim own the Lincoln Center in Fairfield. That’s where they are holding their “Ho Ho Ho Holiday Event” every Friday and Saturday from Thanksgiving to Christmas. The Huffmans agreed to set aside a room in the former school for Pedrick to hold her fundraiser.
Ten Christmas trees have been decorated by local businesses and are being sold through a silent auction. Guests also have the option of voting for their favorite tree by purchasing a vote for $1, and the winner will be crowned “Best Dressed Tree.”
“JCM Mutual Insurance graciously donated all of the trees as well as the decorations here,” Pedrick said. “We reached out to businesses, and they came in and decorated all these trees to make them look amazing.”
Pedrick’s booth inside the Lincoln Center has been open the past two weekends starting on Nov. 29, and will be open again this upcoming weekend of events on Friday and Saturday, Dec. 13-14. That will be the last weekend before her auction ends on Dec. 15. Hailey will be there during the event’s normal hours of 5:30-8 p.m. unless she’s busy wrestling.
Hailey is in the Packwood Trojans 4-H Club and participates in Pekin’s FFA Chapter. At the Greater Jefferson County Fair, she shows cattle, sheep and chickens. She started with sheep in 2019, and then added the other two later.
“Sheep have always kind of been my thing, since I’ve done it the longest and I have the most knowledge about it,” she said.
Hailey said she already has the steer she’s going to show at the Governor’s Charity Steer Show next August. The next thing she has to do is pick a “celebrity showman” to exhibit the steer. She hasn’t settled on a celebrity yet, and is still “weeding through” her options.
“I’d definitely like to do as much as I can for the Ronald McDonald House, because it’s such an amazing organization for families here,” she said.
In addition to being involved in 4-H, FFA and wrestling, Hailey is on the track and cross-country teams, and is on Student Council and FCCLA. Hailey’s parents are Ryan and Eric Pedrick, and she has one sibling, younger brother Collin.
After high school, Hailey plans to attend Iowa State University to study veterinary medicine.
“Ever since I started owning animals and raising them, I’ve always had a huge passion to want to work with them,” Hailey said.
Call Andy Hallman at 641-575-0135 or email him at andy.hallman@southeastiowaunion.com
