For the Daily Reporter
GREENFIELD — It was Jenna Smith’s last chance — and first try.
Saturday afternoon, the 18-year-old Eastern Hancock grad graced the stage for the first time as a contestant in the Hancock County 4-H Fair Queen Pageant — and walked away with the crown.
Throughout high school, Smith’s summer calendar was so jam-packed with other extracurricular activities that she never felt like she had time to participate in the pageant. This year — her final year of 4-H as well as eligibility for the contest — she decided to give it a go.
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Her first crack at the crown couldn’t have gone better.
Her mother, Dawn, said Smith was the picture of calm throughout.
Smith laughed — “Was I? Maybe on the inside.”
A crowd of several hundred gathered at Trinity Park United Methodist Church in Greenfield Saturday afternoon to watch 21 young women compete for the title of Hancock County 4-H fair queen. Smith gasped as her name was announced.
She’ll reign over the fair, which runs June 21 through 28, along with princess (first runner-up) Megan Long; court members Madison Clutinger, Sydney Bradfield and Jordyn Wickard; and Miss Congeniality Gracie Wyatt.
The contestants spent Saturday morning being interviewed by the judges before modeling their formalwear and business attire for the audience during the public portion of the event that afternoon.
The annual queen pageant serves as the unofficial kickoff to the Hancock County 4-H Fair. Days before the animals are ushered into the barns, and the first swathes of colored canvas are lifted into the midway sky, one lucky gal is crowned to reign over it all.
The queen and her court serve as ambassadors of the fair, welcoming visitors to events and handing out ribbons to winners and participants. They’ll make appearances throughout fair week, and the queen will go on to compete for the Indiana State Fair title in January.
Queen committee member Lori Cooley enjoys watching the queen and her court tackle those duties together, all while being ogled by little girls who hope to one day follow in their footsteps.
“I think they become a team,” she said. “And they interact with the younger kids. They serve as a role model.”
Contest rules welcome competitors as young as 16, but you must be 18 to take top prize. It’s not uncommon for young women to give the pageant a try for some experience, then return the next year for a chance at the crown. Watching those same young women grow and learn is one of the greatest rewards of helping organize the contest, said Michelle Hasty, who has been on the queen committee for 14 years.
Hasty encourages young women to get involved not only for the chance to represent the county at the fair but for the life skills they’ll take with them long after the contest is over.
The participants are judged on their poise not only on stage but in a panel interview; for some, it’s the first time they’ve been challenged to sit down and talk about their background and accomplishments.
“You’ll always have to fill out an application or do an interview — at some point I everyone’s life, they will have to do that,” Hasty said. “(It’s) not being just a beauty pageant.”
Hancock County is one of few in the state that requires its county fair pageant contenders to have experience in 4-H.
Four-H participation is not required at the state level, but locally, it’s considered an asset that connects the queen to the people she’ll meet over the course of fair week.
“I think the community wants to see someone who can represent something so important to us, which is 4-H and our Hancock County 4-H Fair,” said Ashley Schenck, queen committee member.
Four-H is something of a tradition in the Smith family, with many 10-year members and several who went on to become 4-H leaders. She’s looking forward to adding something special to that legacy.
“I’ve grown up with (4-H),” she said. “Runs in the family.”
Saturday’s pageant also served as a final farewell for the 2018 queen, Savannah Coe, who said she had sworn off the contest as a little girl because she didn’t want to wear a dress every day of the fair.
“Time changed my perspective, and for that, I’m thankful,” said Coe, a nursing student at Freed-Hardeman University in Tennessee. “I received one of the greatest rewards I could ever imagine.”
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Queen Jenna Smith, daughter of Larry and Dawn Smith of Willow Branch, is an Eastern Hancock High School graduate. Smith is a 10-year 4-H’er planning to attend the University of Indianapolis, where she will study physical therapy.
Court member Madison Clutinger, daughter of J.D. and Sonya Clutinger of Wilkinson, is an Eastern Hancock High School graduate. Clutinger is a 10-year 4-H’er who will attend Trine University to study accounting.
Miss Congeniality Gracie Wyatt, daughter of Greg and Janelle Wyatt of Fortville, attends A Beka Academy through her homeschool program. She is a 10-year 4-H’er and plans to attend Georgetown University to study pre-law.
Court member Jordyn Wickard, daughter of Christopher and Julia Wickard of Greenfield, is a junior at Eastern Hancock High School and an eight-year 4-H’er. She is considering Purdue University and plans to study agriculture in college.
Princess (first runner-up) Megan Long, daughter of Michael and Stephanie Long, is a senior at New Palestine High School. Long is a nine-year 4-H’er and hopes to become an athletic director.
Court member Sydney Bradfield, daughter of Keith and Shana Bradfield of Fortville, is a senior at Mt. Vernon High School. She is an eight-year 4-H’er with plans to attend massage therapy school in Alexandria, Indiana.
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