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Washington Evening Journal
111 North Marion Avenue
Washington, IA 52353
319-653-2191
Sweet Sixteen Court
Megan Lee — New London, Iowa
Parents: Jens and Denise Lee
Megan is involved with her 4-H youth group, basketball, track, volleyball, and softball for New London High School. She also plays softball for a traveling team.
Megan has gone to Old Threshers every year with her family and friends for as long as she can remember. This past year she started volunteering at Vera’s Souvenir Booth during the Reunion. She also volunteered a few shifts at Thrashers House of Terror this past October.
Megan would like to be a part of the Miss Sweet 16 program because she grew up seeing the girls walking around in their dresses. As she has gotten older, she learned more about the Sweet 16 program.
After volunteering at Vera’s and enjoying it, I felt doing the Sweet 16 program would be a great way to be a part of Old Threshers in a new way.
Makynna Carpenter — New London, Iowa
Parents: Adam and Shanae Condreay
Makynna is involved with showing cattle, rodeo, and FFA.
Makynna is looking forward to volunteering this year after attending the Reunion each year since she was born.
Makynna wants to participate in the Sweet 16 program to boost her volunteering confidence and create new opportunities.
Ava English — Mt. Pleasant, Iowa
Parents: JoKasta and Steven English
Ava is involved in the Mt. Pleasant FFA program was well as the varsity football manager. She throws the shot-put in track and field. She loves helping her cousins on the farm and being at the Henry County Fair.
Ava has volunteered at the Drive a Tractor interactive display at the Old Threshers and worked at the Pork Producers Tent for her FFA Class.
Ava is looking forward to being a participant in the Miss Sweet 16 program and believes it is a great way for her to step out of her comfort zone.
She wants to learn and teach why Old Threshers hosts the Reunion and what the significance of it is.
Kinzey Gale — East Peoria, Illinois
Parents: Jeff Gale
Kinzey is involved in FFA and livestock. She has attended the FFA state and National conventions. She is also on the FFA livestock judging team. Kinzey enjoys camping and
being around children.
Kinzey has been involved with Old Threshers at the Log Village where she helps with the mules.
Kinzey would like to be a part of the Miss Sweet 16 because she thinks it would be an awesome experience. She has always dreamed of being a Sweet 16 ever since she was little. Kinzey has been coming to Old Threshers since she was very little.
She would like to give the children the same experience that she had when she was younger. She would also like to give back to Old Threshers for giving her the best time. She hopes with this experience she can give back to the community and break out of her shell and comfort zone.
Charissa Wissmann — Milford, Nebraska
Parents: Loren and Gloria Wissmann
Charissa enjoys playing sports, traveling, and doing pretty much anything with her siblings. In the past year, she has enjoyed the opportunities to serves families as a nanny and babysitter.
Charissa’s family has been singing on the grounds since before she was born, so performing has been the main part of her Old Threshers experience.
Charissa has always admired the role of Miss Sweet 16 and considered it to be an incredible platform to represent the Midwest Old Threshers Reunion and the Old Threshers Foundation. Charissa thinks it would be a great honor to serve in this capacity.
Taylor Moore — Washington, Iowa
Parents: Todd and Jennifer Moore
Taylor is active in track and field, Washington County 4-H Horse and Pony Club, Washington County FFA, riding and driving horses, and showing at the Washington County Fair. Taylor enjoys ice fishing and traveling.
Taylor has been involved in helping set up in the horse barns and infield along with tearing down at the end of the week. She also helps care for the horses and cleans up after them.
Taylor helps in the infield by helping with the hay stacker exhibit, and crowd management during the hore demonstrations. She also helps with the threshing machine by forking the wheat bundles onto the threshing machine platform.
Taylor and her team of horses takes part in the Cavalcade of Power. In winter, she helps with the horse-drawn wagons during the Festival of Lights.
Ever since Taylor was a little girl, she has always wished to be a part of the Miss Sweet 16, being Miss Sweet 16 would be an amazing opportunity to extend her volunteer work at Midwest Old Threshers.
She loves to help people and set a good example. Taylor hopes she can inspire younger generations to volunteer, give back to the community, and maybe inspire other girls to become Miss Sweet 16 candidates. She believes it is an amazing opportunity to help show others the way of hour past.
Emma Lamp — Letts, Iowa
Parents: Russell and Heather Lamp
Emma is involved in many activities throughout her high school. These activities include band, marching band, color guard, winter guard, basketball, golf, FFA, and has been on the student council. One of her main interests is agriculture.
After high school she plans to go to college to continue her education in agriculture.
Emma has been coming to Midwest Old Threshers ever since she was born. Her family owns a 20hp Gaar Scott steam engine they operate yearly during the show.
She has volunteered at the carousel as well as helping each year with organizing and setting up the Steam Engine Games. One can also find Emma helping haul many steam engines in for the show and take them back home.
Ever since Emma was little, she has always seen the girls in the pretty dresses walking around, doing different activities, and helping Old Threshers.
When going to the show, she would always look up to them and has always wanted to compete ever since. She wants to be one of the people the children can look up to carry on the tradition and be a part of the show.
Alexa Fuller — Mt. Pleasant, Iowa
Parents: Nick and Jessica Fuller and Angela and Bruce Hudson
Alexa has participated in the Mt. Pleasant band, color guard and basketball. She has volunteered for many years at the Fellowship Cup, MPCHS music activities, Daddy Daughter Dance, and the North Pole Express for the Midwest Central Railroad. Alexa also enjoys reading.
Alexa’s family has gone to Old Threshers since she was a young child. Alexa has been involved in the Harvest Parade and the Cavalcade of Power.
She has also performed with the Mount Pleasant Marching band in front of the grandstands on Thursdays and Mondays during the Reunion.
Alexa has looked up to the Sweet 16 girls since childhood. She is excited to have the opportunity to participate finally.
She enjoys talking with new people and hopes to help make their Old Threshers memorable through her hours of volunteering on the grounds.
Morgan Bolkema — Bussey, Iowa
Parents: Jodie and Scott Van Essen
Morgan has been involved in FFA where she currently serves as treasurer. She also participates in football, cheerleading, track, dance, and drama club.
Her hobbies include volunteering at the Marion County Humane Society and community fundraisers, fishing, camping and horseback riding, showing livestock and thrift shopping. Her interests include animals, children, and anything outdoors.
Morgan has been enjoying Old Threshers since birth. At a very young age, she rode on her Grandpa Harris’ tractor in the parades with her dad.
The last two years she has volunteered in Tractor Headquarters. Every year she likes to attend concerts and dance in the dance barn.
Volunteering is a big part of who Morgan is and she understands that volunteering is a big part of the Old Threshers. She loves meeting new people and directing people to where they would like to go.
She remembers when she was younger looking up to the Miss Sweet 16 candidates and she looked forward to being that role model for younger generations. She would also enjoy all the events that a Sweet 16 does throughout the year.
Kaylee Knerr — Brighton, Iowa
Parents: Stephanie Ineichen and Michael Knerr
Kaylee has many interests, including band/music, football, wrestling, arts and entertainment, reading, and scrapbooking. Kaylee is also a cheerleader at WACO High School.
Kaylee has been to Old Threshers as a guest but not a volunteer yet. She comes to enjoy the museums, food, concerts, and time with other people.
Kaylee is trying to become more involved in her community and is looking to be more engaged with the events instead of just going and watching.
Elizabeth Braulick — San Antonio, Texas
Parents: Todd and Jennifer Braulick
Elizabeth is involved in varsity basketball, school ambassador, volunteers for Children’s Association for Maximum Potential (Camp C.A.M.P.) a camp serving individuals with disabilities, co-founder of my “friends of camp C.A.M.P.” Antonian High School Chapter, Apache Minds Mental Health Awareness Club and MU Alpha Theta Math Honors Society.
Since Elizabeth lives in Texas, she hasn’t had the opportunity to travel to Old Threshers every year to volunteer.
As a child though, she visited the Reunion with her family and remembers seeing the Sweet 16 girls and hoped that one day she would be able to volunteer at Old Threshers in that way when she was 16!
Elizabeth has grown up with an appreciation of her own family’s heritage and farming roots.
If she was to be chosen as Miss Sweet 16, it would be an honor and privilege to represent an organization that celebrates all farming families.
Cheyenne VanDyne — Nichols, Iowa
Parents: Toni Klikno
Cheyenne has been involved in 4-H for the past six years where she shows livestock and is currently the vice president of her club.
Cheyenne runs a rabbitry where she is raising breed show rabbits for the last two years. Cheyenne enjoys studying animal nutrition along with animal husbandry and welding.
Cheyenne has volunteered on the ground train for the past 4 years which she really enjoys because she is able to meet and talk to new people.
She has also volunteered at the trolley barn also where she helps load the trolleys when the trolley was busy. Cheyenne also exhibited a tractor for the first time last year.
Cheyenne would like to be the next Sweet 16 because it is something she has wanted to do since she was little.
She believes that it would give her a chance to be a role model and have more opportunities to help the community.
Macy Jones — Mt. Pleasant, Iowa
Parents: Arin and Brian Jones
Macy plays volleyball for the Mount Pleasant Panthers and loves cheering the Panthers from the student section as often as possible.
In her free time, she enjoys swimming, reading, camping and kayaking. She volunteers with the Child Abuse Prevention Council and at an area animal shelter.
Macy has been involved at Old Threshers by volunteering in the past at the First United Methodist Church food tent.
She has also participated in the Harvest Day Parade by either marching with the bad or preparing floats. She has camped on the grounds when she was little and gotten behind the scenes at the Don Carlson Memorial Horse Pull.
Macy has attended old Threshers every year of her life — even when she didn’t live in the area and has always looked forward to coming back!
Her dad and his siblings have great childhood stories of spending time camping with their grandparents and using their lifetime train passes every year.
Macy thinks it’s cool to see the whole community come together to make Old Threshers work and has especially looked up to the girls in the Sweet 16 contest as they have helped around the grounds.
She would love to continue the family tradition of special experiences at Old Threshers!
Leah Weaver — Mt. Pleasant, Iowa
Parents: Amy and John Weaver
Leah’s interests include creating art, being on MPTV — Mount Pleasant High School Video Team, reading, playing guitar, writing, any kind of music, acting in plays/musicals, hanging with friends, playing scrabble with family, working on photography, and singing with the choir.
During Old Threshers, Leah has helped with setting up and serving at the Prairie Gem Church. Leah has also completed Trolley School.
Since she can remember, Leah has been coming to Midwest Old Threshers with family.
She has always wanted to be a part of it and help as well as meet new people and possibly make new friends.
Macy loves helping people out and being a part of something bigger. She would like to make her grandma along with her deceased grandpa proud.
