2024 Highland County Fair royalty reflect on service

By Alexis West
2024 Highland County Fair Queen
 
As my time as 2024 Highland County Fair queen comes to a close it is time to reflect on the experiences I have had, the people I have met, and the endless memories I have made. During the year, I have had the opportunity to travel to many fairs, the Ohio Fair Manager Association conference (OFMA), and events held by fellow fair queens. 

Traveling to fairs, I got to meet countless fair queens, learn about other county’s traditions and the things that make their fair special. Attending the OFMA conference I had the opportunity to represent our county as I competed to be the 2025 Ohio Fair's queen. This opportunity was very rewarding and I was able to learn a lot of new things. While there I also got to meet more Queens and hear about their fairs. 

Attending events held by other fair queens was one of my favorite parts of the year. The events were always a ton of fun and I had the opportunity to meet not only royalty members but also members from the different counties.

Now I would like to thank everyone who has supported me on this journey. To start I would like to thank my family for supporting me from the beginning all the way to the end. I know it probably was not easy trying to make sure that I made it everywhere I needed to be but you always made sure that I was there. 

Next is Sydney Hamilton, thank you for all the help and support that you gave me as I finally took the leap and ran for fair queen. From preparing for the contest to the many questions I had throughout the year you always had advice to share from your experiences as fair queen and I am forever grateful for that. 

Up next is Gracie Kelley, thank you for always being willing to go on a weekend adventure to county fairs. Thank you for being my travel buddy, personal photographer, and personal thing holder. I am not sure how I would have done it without you. Thank you to the Sr. Fair Board for supporting me through the OFMA conference and contest. 

Lastly, thank you to my fellow court members Kathryn and Sam for making this year one to remember and going to different fairs and events with me throughout our year on the court.

• • •

Fair king bids farewell

By Sam Hamilton
2024 Highland County Fair King

Hello, everyone. My name is Sam Hamilton, and I am your 2024-2025 Highland County Fair king. As this year’s fair royalty term is coming to an end, I would like to reflect on the experience I have had and thank the many people who have supported me along the way. 

It’s a bit strange to think the term is almost over, but it really shows how quickly time passes. I had a great year being the fair king for Highland County and made a lot of memories with my fellow fair royalty members. 
    
Even though we are all busy college students, we still tried to make the most of our term and tried to represent the best that we could. I know there were many times where we each had schedules that did not work out whatsoever. But we made it work and had a good time whenever we met. We were in the Christmas parade, went to three different fairs, and were at a few different events. Each of these fairs were fun to be a part of and the other fair’s royalties were really inviting. 
    
With that, I would like to thank my parents and family for helping me along the way, and I would like to especially thank Danielle Combs and Kathy Bruynis, who pushed me to run for fair king. I know it was hard to work around the schedule I had but I’m very appreciative of the accommodations I had received. 

Finally, thank you to the fair board who give up a lot of time to make the fair what it is and for working with me during 2024’s fair. I appreciate everyone for making it a great year and best wishes for the upcoming royalty.