Taylor Brinning named 2020 Washington County Fair Queen

Posted 7/23/20

The Washington County Fair may be limited this year, but a 2020 Fair Queen was still crowned on Sunday night.

Taylor Brinning, the daughter of Shane and Kathleen Brinning and an entering senior at …

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Taylor Brinning named 2020 Washington County Fair Queen

Posted

The Washington County Fair may be limited this year, but a 2020 Fair Queen was still crowned on Sunday night.

Taylor Brinning, the daughter of Shane and Kathleen Brinning and an entering senior at Washington High School was named this year’s Washington County Fair Queen.

“I’m really excited, but the most exciting part was this whole day,” Brinning said after she was crowned. “Every single girl that was here was amazing and made the day better.

“All my nerves went away right when I showed up because everyone was just so nice and friendly. It made the whole day better. Every single one of these girls deserves everything.”

During Sunday’s pageant, Brinning answered a pair of questions, including, “What quote or saying do you live by?”

“The quote I live by is ‘everything happens for a reason’ because so many times in my life and everyone else’s, stuff may go wrong or not as we hoped,” Brinning answered. “I use this quote to remind myself that there was probably a lesson taught from this or that there are bigger and better things out there for me, and I shouldn’t dwell on it and just keep moving on.”

She was also asked about her favorite part of her Spanish trip to Costa Rica.

“We didn’t have bugs in our room,” Brinning said. “We got videos from other people who were on the trip about how many bugs they had and trying to catch moths the size of birds.”

Brinning’s activities include Franklin Cubs 4-H club, FFA, County Council, National Honor Society, Fellowship of Christian Athletes, several sports and peer helping.

“From all those, I’ve learned so many things,” Brinning said.

Phelan Hostetler of Mid-Prairie High School was named first runner-up.

Second runner-up was Olivia Marek of Washington High School.

Miss Congeniality was Brynn Beenblossom of Washington High School.

Fair Board President John Wagner talked about how impressed he was with all of this year’s contestants.

“In June when the State Fair canceled the queen contest, we thought about canceling ours,” Wagner said. “After talking with (pageant coordinator) Heather (Marek), we decided to leave this decision up to the girls who were interested in running. These girls you see tonight decided to compete even though the grand prize at the end of the tunnel had a road block – no State Fair.

“This contest is bigger than a trophy, bigger than a sash, bigger than a tiara. It’s about the experience, making new friends and being a true 4-H or FFA member.”

2019 Fair Queen Leah Marek talked about her experience as Fair Queen.

“Being Fair Queen has taught me so much and given me relationships and memories that I will never forget,” Marek said. “My favorite part of serving was being a role model to the younger 4-H’ers and watching them grow with their projects and activities.”