Three young ladies vying for crown of 2015 Allamakee County Fair Queen
Three Allamakee County young ladies - Emily Hammel, Megan Leiran and Carmen Wille - are vying for the title of 2015 Allamakee County Fair Queen. That crown and all the honors and responsibilities that accompany it will be bestowed upon one of those three candidates Tuesday evening, July 14 during the Allamakee County Fair Queen Coronation being held at the Allamakee County Fairgrounds Pavilion in Waukon to help kick off the 162nd Allamakee County Fair.
The coronation event will begin at 7 p.m. with a Youth Showcase, as local Future Farmers of America (FFA) members will make presentations, as will top entrants from the 4-H Expressions Day held annually in Allamakee County in conjunction with the Fair. This year's event will also feature an Allamakee County Royalty Showcase once again, including introduction of 2015 Allamakee County Dairy Princess Katie Kerndt and 2015 Allamakee County Beef Queen Shelby Troendle, along with their fellow royalty court members, as well as 2015 Iowa State Guernsey Princess Leslie Sivesind, who reigns from Waukon.
The crowning of the Allamakee County Fair Queen will follow that Showcase event. All candidates will be part of the Allamakee County Fair Royalty Team assisting with various events throughout the 2015 Allamakee County Fair. The 2015 Allamakee County Fair Queen will also advance on to compete for the title of Iowa State Fair Queen in the August 15 pageant to be held in Des Moines during the 2015 Iowa State Fair.
Biographies of each of the three candidates seeking this year’s Allamakee County Fair Queen crown follow:
Emily Hammel -
Emily Hammel, age 17, is the daughter of Charles and Deb Hammel of Dorchester and will be a senior at Waukon High School when classes begin later this fall. She has future plans to attend college to major in Elementary Education and minor in Fashion.
Her participation in school activities has included cross country, basketball, track and softball, and has resulted in earning multiple varsity letters in both track and cross country and her first varsity letter in basketball this year. She has also earned multiple letters in the Waukon High School Choir, and she participates in both group and individual speech contest. She is also involved in the Northeast Iowa Food and Fitness Initiative.
Emily also participates in the Little Switzerland Future Farmers of America (FFA) chapter at Waukon High School and is an active member of St. Mary's Catholic Church in Dorchester. Her 4-H involvement has included serving on the Allamakee County 4-H County Council, and she has also been the recipient of the Communications Award and earned advancement to the Iowa State Fair in 2011 through 2014 with various projects and exhibits.
Megan Leiran -
Megan Leiran is the 17-year-old daughter of Steve and Nancy Leiran of Waterville. When the new school year begins this fall she will be a senior at Waukon High School.
Upon graduation from high school, Megan plans to major in Agriculture at Northeast Iowa Community College (NICC) in Calmar and then transfer to Iowa State University in Ames to complete a four-year degree. Her background in agriculture stems from helping her parents with field work and daily chores from an early age on the family grain and livestock farm.
Megan has been active in the Little Switzerland Future Farmers of America (FFA) chapter at Waukon High School, currently serving as Chapter Historian and representing the chapter as a delegate at both the District and State Conventions this year. She also represented the local FFA chapter at the 2015 Farm Safety Camp hosted by Veterans Memorial Hospital in June of this year and participated on the FFA Horse Evaluation team that placed fifth at Convention, earning herself a 10th-place individual finish. She also received the 2014-2015 FFA Proficiency Award in Equine Science Placement.
Also an active 4-H member, Megan currently serves as Vice President of the Clover Chasers 4-H club and is a member of the Allamakee County 4-H County Council. She also helps teach younger riders at the 4-H Horse Project workouts held throughout the year. Her community involvement also extends to her church, Old West Paint Creek Church in rural Waterville, where she is active in the Luther League.
Carmen Wille -
Carmen Wille of Waukon, daughter of Carl Wille and KaLynne Opperman, is 16 years old and will be a junior when classes resume this fall at Waukon High School, where she has consistently achieved inclusion on the Academic Honor Roll. Although currently undecided in regard to specific future plans, she says her strong interest in the agriculture industry has her pointed in that direction in pursuit of further educational and career goals.
That interest in agriculture has developed into a high degree of involvement in the Little Switzerland Future Farmers of America (FFA) chapter at Waukon High School, where she has served as Chapter Reporter and will be assuming the office of Chapter Secretary during the upcoming school year. Her FFA involvement has also led to numerous awards and has allowed her to participate in many contests and community service events.
Outside of school and her FFA involvement, Carmen continues her agricultural involvement with her job milking dairy cattle at Five M Dairy owned and operated by the Matt and Michelle Byrnes family of rural Dorchester. In her spare time, Carmen enjoys playing slow pitch softball.
