Becoming an Iowa State Fair Queen is no easy task. You have to be active in your community, extremely intelligent, able to answer any question within seconds and on top of that, you have to be present at a wide range of Iowa State Fair events. We asked three queens about the journey.
We asked Abby Hiller, 2007 Iowa State Fair Queen and 2018 judge; Jacqueline Ehrlich, 2017 Iowa State Fair Queen and 2018 newly crowned queen Hailey Swan from Davis County.
They were incredible people to meet, but there answers to our questions are heart warming. It really is encouraging to see young women of this caliber representing not only our Iowa State Fair, but our state.
They all had a unique perspective on the Iowa State Fair Queen competition. Abby Hiller was not only a queen, but this was her first year judging the competition. She gave us the criteria, and how judging works.
Jacqueline Ehrlich had advice for the future Queen (yet to be announced) which was to make sure to step back and times and take it all in. She wanted the future Queen to be sure to not be completely lost in the whirlwind. She also mentioned that the whole process completely changed her, and that she didn't even recognize herself from last year.
Hailey Swan, the newly minted 2018 Iowa State Fair Queen, spoke of her shock and how the crowd parted forming a tunnel with her parents at the end. Although we can't completely appreciate the moment like she can, her story is heartwarming. Swan has a strong desire, as she put it, to love Jesus and love people. She will take that loving spirit to help human trafficking victims.
Take a moment and listen to these Iowa State Fair Queen interviews. We are confident you will be inspired like we were.