91 / 340
2017 LOGAN COUNTY FAIR
LINCOLN DAILY NEWS
July 30 - August 6, 2017 Page 91
Now the experience Paulus has gained as queen
throughout the past year will carry her into a bright
future filled with skills she will use for the rest of her
life. Her reflection upon those memories is bittersweet.
“Although I am sad my reign is over, it is a
bittersweet feeling,” said the future 2018 College of
ACES graduate. “This year has been one of the best
experiences. I have learned professionalism, poise,
and not to be intimidated by public speaking; not to
mention lifelong friendships through other county
queens and the pageant crew. I know this opportunity
has prepared me for a career as well through my
interview skills.”
Paulus’ career in agriculture has already been
jumpstarted with an internship at Farm Credit Illinois
in Mahomet. “Between my internship at Farm
Credit Illinois and my queen duties, I’ve had a busy
summer.”
Busy might be an understatement. But for this West-
Lincoln Broadwell and Lincoln Community High
School graduate, who was heavily involved in extra-
curricular activities throughout her school years, busy
is the norm. Paulus also enjoys the benefits of helping
others. She has been heavily involved in this year’s
contest preparation and likes the way the contestants
are working hard for Tuesday night’s pageant.
“I’m encouraged to go around to other county fair
queen pageants to represent Logan County and to meet
the newly crowned queen,” said Paulus. “This past
month has been busy with pageant practices for the
new 2017 Miss Logan County Queen. At the practices,
the contestants practice their walking, interview skills,
and our production number. We have nine wonderful
contestants this year, and they have truly impressed
me at all of the practices. They have worked so hard
and it’s a great feeling to see how they’ve improved
and developed more confidence throughout the month.
Whoever is crowned next, I have full confidence
that they will do a fantastic job representing Logan
County.”
With her reign now quickly coming to an end, Paulus
wanted to offer her gratitude publicly to the pageant
directors. “I also want to recognize our three directors
of the Miss, Jr. Miss, and Little Miss Pageant -
Bethany Rademaker, Katie Gosda, and Ali Sherren,”
said Paulus. “They have put an insane amount of
hours into this pageant every year and have done a
wonderful job preparing for Tuesday. I am so lucky to
be able to work with these lovely ladies throughout the
year because they are such a great support system.”
The admiration is mutual. “Queen Michelle has
represented Logan County with true poise, gratitude
and dignity,” said Pageant Director Bethany
Rademaker. “She willingly dedicated her year to
be the ambassador for the Logan County Fair and
attended numerous county-wide events. You can see
her passion and appreciation shine through while
sharing her love for Logan County. Queen Michelle
is truly proud to be a Logan County citizen and has
encouraged the Logan County community to share in
that passion throughout her reign.
As Queen Michelle has stated time and time again,
“We truly have a county fair to be proud of! We
have an amazing group of volunteers, citizens, and
Fair Board that allows our slogan to be completely
accurate. We have Illinois’ Cleanest and Best County
Fair!”
Continue
c