First ever fair king to be crowned; Six vying for princess

ROME TOWNSHIP — We are three days away from the Saturday start of the 2023 Lawrence County Fair and, on Sunday, when the opening ceremony is held, five contestants will be vying for the title of fair queen.

The winner of that competition will be crowned by last year’s fair queen, Brea Belville. In addition, the 2 p.m. ceremony will see a first – the crowning of a fair king, pageant coordinator Jessi Newman said.

With that competition being new to the fair, she said there was only one entrant this year, but she described him as a perfect representative of the fair for the title.

In addition to the king and queen, the ceremony will also see the crowning of a fair princess by last year’s winner, Isabella Kerns.

The pageant has more than five decades of history at the fair and entrants must reside in Lawrence County and meet eligibility requirements, such as participation in 4-H and FFA programs.

Queen contestants must be between 16 and 18 years old, while princess contestants must be between 12 and 18.
The opening ceremony is set for 2 p.m. in the main barn at the fairgrounds, located at 7755 County Rd. 107 in Rome Township. The ceremony will be preceded by the 4-H walking parade at 1 p.m.

Queen contestants

• Enola Cade
She is the daughter of Amber and Tom Cade and a freshman at The University of Rio Grande. She is a member of Symmes Valley FFA and Lawrence County Teen Leaders. Cade was the 2021 Lawrence County Fair Princess.

• Megan Foltz
She is the daughter of Sonya Beckett and Jimmie Foltz and a sophomore at The University of Rio Grande. She is a member of the Lawrence County Copperheads 4-H club and Lawrence County Teen Leaders.

• Leah Gorby
She is the daughter of Shawna Gorby and Jason Gorby and a senior at Fairland High School. She is a member of the Getaway Go-Getters 4-H club

• Sydney Hairston
She is the daughter of Andrea Hairston and Jeff Hairston and a freshman at Ohio University Southern. She is a member of the Lawrence County Shooting Sports club, Silver Spurs and the Barn Busters 4-H club.

• Veronica Poyner
She is the daughter of Courtney and Mike Roach and Nick Poyner and a senior at Tri-State STEM+M Early College High School. She is a member of the Andis Cornhuskers 4-H club and the Junior Fairboard.

2023 Lawrence County Fair King

• Evan Clark
He is the son of Scott and Heidi Clark. He is currently enlisted in the Ohio Air National Guard and is a member of the Getaway Go-Getters 4-H club.

Princess contestants
• Madison Bevins
She is the daughter of James and Jeanie Bevins and a freshman at Symmes Valley High School. She is a member of the Rabbiterrs 4-H club.

• Allie Day
She is the daughter of Josh and Megan Turner and a junior at Symmes Valley High School. She is a member of the Arabia All-Stars 4-H club and the Symmes Valley FFA.

• Kirsten Dome
She is the daughter of Jim and Carrie Dome and a junior in high school. She is a member of the Farm Hands 4-H club.

• Brynlie Gore
She is the daughter of JD and Sara Gore and in the eighth grade at Symmes Valley Middle School. She is a member of the Kitts Hill Willing Workers 4-H club.

• Meredith Rogers
She is the daughter of Ryan and Elizabeth Rogers and a freshman at Rock Hill High School. She is a member of the Barnbusters 4-H club.

• Madison Brooke Walters

She is the daughter of Vernetta Walters and a sophomore at Fairland High School. She is a member of the Ranch Hands 4-H club.

— Look for our annual fair tab, featuring a full schedule of fair events and admission details, in Saturday’s edition of The Ironton Tribune.
Also, our July/August issue of Tri-State Living is now out and features multiple articles related to the fair.