Group of 4-H ‘superstars’ will promote Holmes County
The Holmes County Junior Fair royal court poses before they head on to the stage to determine this year’s king and queen. Flanked by outgoing queen Kaylor Perone, left, and outgoing king Josiah Kandel, right, are a field of Holmes County Junior Fair board members Anna Irwin, Macin Hager, Gabriella Sherman and Kylie Ramirez.
While the number of people running for the positions of queen and king for the 2019-20 Holmes County Junior Fair may not have been many, Ohio State University Extension of Holmes County educator Janessa Hill called the four “superstars of Holmes County 4-H.”
During the Holmes County Junior Fair contest on Monday, Aug. 5 on the stage on the green at Harvest Ridge, the king honor fell to the lone contestant, Macin Hager, while Kylie Ramirez emerged as the queen from a field that included attendants Anna Irwin and Gabriella Sherman.
All four of these young people have been a valuable part of the Holmes County 4-H landscape for a long time. Each have contributed as Junior Fair board members, and all of them have been involved in their respective clubs, the Holmes County Fair and the Holmes County community.
That was why Hill said it was going to be difficult to pick out just one of the girls as queen, noting that all three of them would and will represent Holmes County 4-H and the fair well.
When the moment came for outgoing queen Kaylor Perone to hand over the reins and crown a new queen, she was putting the sash around Ramirez.
“I was definitely fighting back the tears and trying to keep it together during the announcement,” Ramirez said. “I am really honored and surprised that I got it. I feel as though I deserve this because I know how hard I have worked, but I know how much both Gabriella and Anna have done for 4-H and how hard they have worked too. It’s a lot to take in, but I am really happy because it is something that I really wanted.”
Ramirez has been passionate about 4-H, her West Holmes High School FFA program and the Holmes County Fair for a long time. She has served as a delegate to numerous events both in and out of Ohio, and this year she created the first-ever Holmes County Fair “Be You Livestock Show,” a livestock show that will allow special-needs members of Holmes County Board of Developmental Disabilities and throughout Holmes County to show an animal at the fair under the guidance of seasoned 4-Hers.
As a senior at WHHS this year, she is undecided about where she will continue her education but will pursue either pre-med or ag-business in college.
Before that time arrives, she will enjoy her senior year and the time she will spend serving as queen of the Holmes County Junior Fair.
“I am looking forward to representing Holmes County, and one of the big things I will talk to others about is the ‘Be You Livestock Show,’” Ramirez said. “Even if I wasn’t queen, I would promote that because it is an important thing. The other thing I will talk a lot about is the support of this community. We have some incredibly high numbers for sales at our fair livestock shows, well above most other fairs. That is thanks to the commitment of our community to support our young people.”
Hager didn’t have the drama that was represented by the queen’s contest, but he was more than qualified to take over the position vacated by outgoing king Josiah Kandel.
An outgoing young man, Hager is eager to begin doing what he does best, which is talking up a storm in promoting the Holmes County Fair and the county as a whole.
“This is something that I have wanted for a long time, and it is pretty special to have this opportunity,” Hager said. “To be able to represent this county fair that has meant so much to me and is so widely respected across the state is a real honor.”
Hager said he also has a ton of respect for all three of the queen contestants and is proud to serve alongside all of them.
“I would put them in any business and hire them in our own business,” Hager said. “They are so smart and so durable. With our 4-H development program, we get some really smart, really amazing kids who come through the program. It is amazing to see how many phenomenal kids come through our Holmes County 4-H program.”
While speaking in front of large crowds and people brings a varying degree of angst for many people, Hager is not among them.
That is because he has been gearing up his whole life to move into the world of auctioneering, an art form he continues to perfect. Upon graduation from WHHS in 2020, he will head west to Missouri School of Auctioneering, where he will garner his auctioneer license, and he hopes to join the team at RES Auction Service.
Not only is Hager heavily involved in 4-H, he also is a championship showman in the arena, where he has earned showmanship honors and grand champion animals. Therefore he is looking forward to coming back into the area to continue to be a part of the Holmes County Fair and 4-H scene.
“My goal is to just represent Holmes County to the best of my ability,” Hager said. “I am excited to promote our fair. With this new facility, there are things we couldn’t do before, and many people don’t realize what we have here, and I am going to go out and be goofy, old Macin wherever I go.”
For the two attendants, this marks their final go-around in Holmes County 4-H, meaning this fair and their tour as royalty will be a bittersweet one.
“I’ve been in 4-H forever, and I think I will miss showing steers as much as anything because I love doing that,” Sherman said.
Oddly enough, this year she was unable to do so because her steer, which had done very well in shows earlier this year, got hurt and she was unable to replace it in time. She will show a market goat and a pygmy goat. Sherman plans on attending Akron University, where she will study biomedical science in gearing up for medical school.
“I am excited to go to festival fairs all over Ohio and meet new people and see how other fairs operate,” Sherman said of her approaching royalty run. “I think it is interesting how each fair is a little different and unique in its own way.”
Irwin also is looking forward to visiting other fairs to promote her home town fair.
“I definitely won’t have any problem promoting the Holmes County Fair,” she said. “I’m looking forward to influencing others to come and visit Holmes County. This whole fair week is kind of a sad week, knowing it is my last fair. Everything is coming to an end. But I have learned so much from 4-H, and being able to tour Ohio to talk about that experience will be fun.”