‘Icing on the cake’
Spraggs teen named first runner-up in Fair Queen competition When Megan Moore, 17, of Spraggs was crowned the 2007 Greene County Fair Queen, it was a thrilling moment for her…but little did she know that the best was yet to come.
From Jan. 17-19, Moore, along with Chelsey Marie Jones, 17, the 2007 Jacktown Fair Queen, headed for Hershey and the Pennsylvania State Fair Queen Competition.
“I really wanted to get into the top five,” Moore said. “It was just icing on the cake when I heard them say my name and realized I was named the first runner-up.”
Moore garnered this title from a field of 54 contestants from across the state.
According to her, the pageant was fairly competitive with a lot of qualified candidates.
“It was really great being there, and I got to meet every one of the other 52 girls,” she said.
She already knew her Greene County counterpart, Jones.
“They keep you pretty busy while you are there with seminars and fund-raising booths. It was exciting. I enjoyed all of it and the chocolate wasn’t bad either,” she said with a chuckle, referring to the famous Hershey chocolate.
When asked about the logistics of the competition, Moore said that the rules are fairly clear.
“At the local level, you have a lot more leeway,” she said. “But at the states, they tell you exactly how things are allowed to be done.”
Unlike the local level where some of the speeches that are prepared come with elaborate demonstrations and much creativity on the part of contestants, that is not allowed at the state competition.
“They tell you that you have to present it in a speech format and not as entertainment,” Moore said, jokingly adding, “and I was so looking forward to having my fire batons for my speech, too.”
Her sense of humor, her intelligence, her smile and her easy-going mannerisms are what those who know her credit for her success.
“She is just a really great girl. She just shines,” said Mary Jane Kent, a longtime participant in the organization of the local fair queen competition.
Where is Moore headed from here? Believe it or not, she has aspirations of becoming a plastic surgeon with a specialization in reconstructive surgery.
Those are lofty goals for the Waynesburg Central senior, but from her list of accomplishments that include NHS, SADD, Who’s Who Among American High School Students and much more, these goals appear to be very attainable.
Her parents, Mark and Joan Moore, definitely have faith in what their daughter is capable of accomplishing.
“My mom is already telling me that she will offer herself as my guinea pig,” Moore said with a laugh.
This reporter is certain that Megan’s mom won’t be the only person looking “Dr. Megan” up in the future.