Mizer crowned hot air balloon festival queen
Queen: Shelby Mizer was crowned the first ever Coshocton Hot Air Balloon Festival Queen during a contest held June 4, at the Coshocton County Fairgrounds. Pictured from left are Mizer and first runner up Candace Cormack. Beacon photo by Josie Sellers
COSHOCTON – Shelby Mizer is honored to have the opportunity to represent Coshocton County.
The 2015 River View High School graduate was crowned the first ever Coshocton Hot Air Balloon Festival Queen during a contest held June 4 at the fairgrounds’ grandstand.
“I wanted this opportunity to represent Coshocton because I’ve been involved in a lot of stuff like First Fridays and parades and I’m a people person,” Mizer said. “I love to talk to people and teach them new things. I’ve always gotten the runner up spot so I’m very happy to represent Coshocton County.”
The 18-year-old plans to attend The Ohio State University Agricultural Technical Institute to major in livestock science and eventually become a veterinarian.
Candace Cormack also competed for the queen title. The 16-year-old graduated early from high school and plans to attend COTC next year to obtain her associate’s degree. Her goal is to enter the medical field and become a physician assistant.
As the first runner up, she will fill in for Mizer if she is unable to travel to a festival or event.
“I love the city of Coshocton,” Cormack said. “This town is great. Last year I was really sick and I got a lot of support from my teachers and church. Everyone here is so great. I loved the experience of running for the Hot Air Balloon Festival Queen. I was fortunate to be able to do this and glad they had the contest this year.”
During the contest, visiting royalty were given an opportunity to introduce themselves while the judges conversed and Tom Roahrig, a member of the festival committee, took a moment to explain why the contest was added to this year’s schedule of events.
“We decided to do this to help with someone’s secondary education,” he said. “Once the queen meets certain goals by attending festivals and representing Coshocton she will get a $500 scholarship toward her education. It’s from money that we collected from the balloon festival and wanted to put back into the community.”
josie@coshoctoncountybeacon.com
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