Megan Lee’s Sweet 16 adventure

Megan Lee, daughter of Jens and Denise Lee, looks forward to Old Threshers every year. This sophomore at NLHS always noticed the girls in their old-fashioned dresses … the Sweet 16 volunteers. When big sister Kaitlyn decided to participate, Megan couldn’t help but see what a positive experience it was. Kaitlyn had a great time and met so many interesting people. After Megan did some volunteering and met the Sweet 16 coordinator, she decided to take the plunge.

As she was to find out, being a hostess at Old Threshers involves plenty of “learning the ropes.” The hostesses volunteer in different areas around the expansive OT grounds. Megan learned where everything was located so she could direct the guests. She also learned some of the history of Old Threshers and about the items on display, tractors and cars included, that she could share with guests.

The payoff for Megan … she met people from all over the United States. She got to listen to their Old Threshers experiences from as far back as 50 years.

Kaitlyn’s positive experience certainly was a catalyst for Megan. With her encouragement, Megan started volunteering. She worked at the House of Terror and the Daddy-Daughter Dance. With those being positive, she decided to be a Sweet 16 hostess.

The 14 girls spent the reunion as the official hostesses. In addition to her hostess duties, Megan became a contestant for being crowned Miss Sweet 16. She participated in an interview and gave a presentation on steam engines in front of a panel of judges. She was evaluated on her volunteerism, interview skills, character, and Old Threshers’ knowledge.

Megan prepared for her steam engine presentation by talking to the steam engine operators. Nervous at first, she was quickly put at ease by the interesting things they told her. She did a Google slide presentation that involved problems only computers can provide. She felt she did badly on this which made the interview even harder. But she must have been impressive because when the scores were added up, the top score was crowned Miss Sweet 16. Megan was crowned first runner-up with the second highest score!

Megan feels that this was a very positive experience. It prepared her for future job and scholarship interviews. As for her favorite thing, she says, “It is hard to pick a favorite thing, but I enjoyed it when little kids would give me hugs because they thought I was a princess as well as meeting and hearing stories from past reunions. Some of the people I talked to have been coming for over 50 years and had lots of stories to tell.”

She sums up the experience as one of the hardest, but most rewarding things she has ever done. It forced her out of her comfort zone and made her try new things. She would do it again in a heartbeat.

Congratulations Megan on a job well done … and by the way, the tiara looks great on you