New fair king and queen crowned
COSHOCTON – Derek Hoffman and Justine Moran spent a good part of Saturday morning smiling for a variety of cameras.
The pair was crowned the 2012 Coshocton County Fair King and Queen during opening ceremonies which were held Sept. 29, at the Rotary Pavilion.
“I’m excited I got it,” Hoffman said.
Moran also used the word excited to describe how she was feeling.
“I’m looking forward to going and seeing everything and meeting new people,” she said. “Being fair queen is a really high honor. I’ve been involved with fair since I was little and felt that this was something I should do.”
Hoffman knows he will be a good representative of Coshocton County.
“I have good leadership and communication skills,” he said.
Hoffman is the son of Tish and Tony Hoffman and is active in 4-H, Ridgewood FFA and in the community.
“I’m really happy and excited for him,” Tish said. “It will be another interesting learning experience.”
Moran is the daughter of Brian and Karin Moran and also is active in 4-H, River View FFA and the community.
“I’m somewhat overwhelmed right now,” Karin said. “It’s been a busy year with her being a senior.”
Brian said the family has always been involved with the fair.
“We were both very active when we were younger,” he said. “I still enjoy seeing the animal projects.”
Derek and Justine’s court includes: Coleston Pope, Hunter Winegar, Kaila Jacobs, Kristy Stout and Hannah Williamson.
The outgoing king and queen were Seth Finton and Cristy Gilmore.
“I hope the new king and queen had as much fun as I did,” Gilmore said.
Finton also wished the new king and queen the best.
“I hope you have a blast like I did and meet exciting people,” he said.
In addition to the crowing of the fair king and queen, the opening ceremonies also included speeches by members of the Junior Fair Board, which is made up of representatives from Boy Scouts, 4-H, FFA, Junior Grange, Girls Scouts and Farm Bureau Youth. The 32 member board is responsible for planning the junior fair.
Other special guests also were introduced included Mayor Steve Mercer and Chairman of the Board of Commissioners Dane Shryock.
“I encourage everyone to come out and enjoy what I think is a great asset to our community and the biggest social event of the year,” Mercer said.
Shryock also acknowledged all the hard work it takes to put on the fair.
“I want to thank the senior and junior fair board for all they’ve done to put on the 161st year of the Coshocton County Fair,” he said. “It takes a lot of effort and time to make this happen.”
josie@coshoctoncountybeacon.com
Category: People & Places
