Four young ladies vying for crown of 2017 Allamakee County Fair Queen


Allamakee County Fair Queen Candidates... Pictured left to right, MaKayla Manning, Kasinda McKee, Danielle Stock and Carley Sweeney.

Coronation event kicks off 164th Allamakee County Fair Tuesday, July 18

Four Allamakee County young ladies are vying for the title of 2017 Allamakee County Fair Queen. Those four candidates for this year's crown include MaKayla Manning, Kasinda McKee, Danielle Stock and Carley Sweeney.

The crown of Allamakee County Fair Queen and all the honors and responsibilities that accompany it will be bestowed upon one of those four candidates Tuesday evening, July 18 during the Allamakee County Fair Queen Coronation being held at the Allamakee County Fairgrounds Pavilion in Waukon to help kick off the 164th Allamakee County Fair.

The coronation event will begin at 7 p.m. with a local 4-H and FFA showcase of presentations that will include Share the Fun acts and a Washington, DC Citizenship Trip review. Top entries from the 4-H Expressions Day held annually in Allamakee County in conjunction with the Fair will also take to the stage. This year's event will also feature an Allamakee County Royalty Showcase once again, including the introduction of local youth crowned as representatives of their various industries.

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 2017 Allamakee County Fair. The 2017 Allamakee County Fair Queen will also advance on to compete for the title of Iowa State Fair Queen in the August 12 pageant to be held in Des Moines during the 2017 Iowa State Fair.

Biographies of each of the four candidates seeking this year’s Allamakee County Fair Queen crown are printed below:

MaKayla Manning

MaKayla Manning is the 18-year-old daughter of Mike and Tammy Manning of Lansing. She is a 2017 graduate of Kee High School in Lansing, and she plans to attend Minnesota State University in Mankato, MN this fall to pursue a major in Family and Consumer Science Education with a minor in Communication Studies, with the ultimate goal of returning to her hometown area and teaching in a local school while also being a Speech and Drama coach.

Involved in 4-H for the past eight years, MaKayla has served as a member of the Allamakee County 4-H County Council for two years, and she has also been a 4-H State Fair exhibitor in numerous projects and has performed as a Share the Fun singer at the Iowa State Fair. She also served as a member of the Fair Royalty Team at the 2016 Allamakee County Fair and is the recipient of both the Allamakee County 4-H Scholarship and the Allamakee County Fair Board Scholarship.

MaKayla has also been involved in a variety of school activities, serving as a member of the Kee High School Student Council for four years and also being a three-year member of the school's National Honor Society chapter. She graduated from Kee High School this past May with honors of summa cum laude, touting a grade point average between 3.7 and 4.0, and she received Student of Integrity Honorable Mention and was named a HOBY (Hugh O'Brian Youth Leadership Foundation) Award Runner-Up.

Also while in school, MaKayla has been a four-year member of the Spanish Club and the Youth Power organization focusing on raising drug awareness. She has participated in volleyball for four years and was a member of the Kee High School softball Class 1A Regional Championship and State Runner-Up team in 2014.

MaKayla was also a four-year participant in both the band and vocal music programs at Kee High School, earning such honors as All-Conference Percussionist in 2015 and the National School Choral Award. It is in her four-year involvement with drama and both individual and large group speech where

MaKayla has earned her greatest honors, receiving the Outstanding Speech Member Award in both 2015 and 2017 and not only being selected as an All-State Speech participant in 2016 and 2017, but also receiving Outstanding Speaker recognition. She has also received recognition as Best Actress in 2017 and was selected as a spokesmodel for the Charlotte's Bridal Prom magazine.

In addition to her involvement in school and extracurricular activities, MaKayla has also taken part in a variety of volunteer service activities both locally and farther reaching, including being involved in a Nicaragua schools mission trip and taking a leadership role in a benefit for Haiti. More local leadership volunteer roles for her have included an Adopt-a-Child program for Christmas, organizing a staff appreciation supper, being a speaker for Veterans Day and Memorial Day programs, building snowmen and baking bread for the local nursing home, baking cookies for New Albin Elementary School staff and serving as DJ the last four years for the Kee Middle School dance.

MaKayla's other volunteer activities have covered a great many facets of local involvement, including serving and singing at her church, volunteering at blood drive events, Breakfast with Santa and Halloween Day for the Kids events, and making Valentine's Day gifts for cancer patients. Local events such as citywide clean-up day, Spiffy Up Main Street, Winterfest and National Wild Turkey Federation banquets have also benefited from MaKayla's volunteer efforts.

Her volunteer services also carry over into the school realm, where she has offered tutoring and been a Field Day umpire and a leader at Summer Theater Camp. MaKayla also has an abundance of volunteer experience through her 4-H and Allamakee County Fair involvement, including bookkeeping at the fair's Dairy Show, helping with Kids Crafts events at the fair, assisting with clean-up efforts before and after the fair, and also working at the 4-H food stand and conducting 4-H building patrol. She has also worked at the annual 4-H Soup Supper.

Kasinda McKee

Eighteen-year-old Kasinda McKee is the daughter of Diane McKee of Waukon. She is a member of the graduating class of 2017 at Waukon High School that just completed its high school education this past May, and she will be attending the University of Northern Iowa in Cedar Falls this fall to continue her education with a major in Psychology.

Kasinda is a 4-H member, through which she has had projects and exhibits advance to the Iowa State Fair. She is also a member of the Northeast Iowa Food & Fitness Initiative.

In school, Kasinda has been named to the "A" Honor Roll while also participating in extracurricular activities at Waukon High School. She has been involved in Speech and Future Business Leaders of America (FBLA), and also participated in track and field for two years.

Her greatest activity involvement and success has come through cheerleading, where she has been a member of Waukon High School's competitive cheer squad that has cheered to State Runner-Up honors each of the past two years. Individually, she has been named to the Iowa Cheerleading Coaches' Association Honor Squad and selected to perform as an Iowa Cheerleading Coaches' Association All-Star Cheerleader. She has also been a varsity cheerleader for the Waukon High School football and basketball seasons, and has also been selected to serve as a cheerleader for the Iowa Special Olympics through the Iowa Cheerleading Coaches' Association.

Danielle Stock

Danielle Stock, age 17, is the daughter of Mark and Stacy Stock of Waukon. She will be a senior at Waukon High School this fall, and she has future plans to attend Iowa State University in Ames to major in Animal Science with a minor in Genetics.
Danielle has been inducted into the National Honor Society at Waukon High School. She also serves on the Waukon High School Student Council and the School Improvement Advisory Committee. Danielle also participates in cross country and in both large group and individual speech during the school year.

Being a member of the Little Switzerland FFA Chapter, Danielle will serve as the chapter vice president for 2017-2018, and served as the chapter treasurer for 2016-2017. Through her involvement with FFA, she has participated in many Career Development Activities, earning such honors as 2016 Reserve State Champion in Veterinary Science, a 2017 Iowa Degree, a Chapter Beef Proficiency Award and receiving Chapter Star in Agriculture Placement.

Also involved in 4-H, Danielle is a member of the Elon PMC 4-H club, currently serving as club vice president. She also serves on the Allamakee County 4-H County Council, currently holding the position of co-secretary.

Danielle is also a member of the Iowa Junior Gelbvieh Association, where she has served as treasurer from 2015 through 2017. She also participates in the St. John's Lutheran Church Youth Handbell Choir.

Carley Sweeney

Carley Sweeney is 17 years old and the daughter of Jeff and Penny Sweeney of Waukon. She will be entering her senior year at Waukon High School this fall, and she has plans to attend a four-year college to major in Education while also continuing to be involved in the auctioneering industry, already being a graduate of the Worldwide College of Auctioneering.

Carley was recently inducted into the National Honor Society chapter at Waukon High School, where she has earned placement on the "A" Honor Roll and also serves on the Student Council and as class representative for the school's Future Business Leaders of America (FBLA) chapter. She also participates in Waukon High School's Marching Band, Jazz Band, Concert Band, Pep Band, Drumline, Concert Choir, Mixed and Women's Chamber Choirs, and annual musicals, having earned a variety of band and vocal music awards. Involvement in volleyball, basketball and golf round out Carley's well-diversified involvement while in high school.

Outside of the school realm, Carley is involved in 4-H, serving as president of the Clover Chasers 4-H club and as co-secretary of the Allamakee County 4-H County Council. She has also received the E Spirit Award, a 4-H Photography Award and has served as a 4-H Camp counselor.

Also involved in her church, Carley is a member of the St. Patrick Church Choir and serves as a song leader for services. She is also a team leader for the church's Totus Tuus program.