SANGAMON COUNTY FAIR PAGEANT HISTORY
How time flies or….. should we say time changes many things. Turn back the pages of time and let’s take a look at how pageants have changed and evolved through the years. From gowns with hoop skirts, gloves, shoulder pads, bouffant and beehive hair styles, and even card board arm bands used as the contestant number. Today marks a new era where contestants have a set of rules to comply to or in some cases a contract to sign, mock interview skills to polish, expanded dress code attire including interview suit, evening gown and physical fitness/ swimwear, and the addition of public speaking skills to help find the most well-rounded representative. The original location of the stage was west of the present open pavilion in which a fence encompassed the arena for horse shows. A tent was provided for the contestants to use for wardrobe changes. A few years passed and a new open pavilion was constructed in 1964, complete with a stage, dressing rooms and even rest rooms. We are blessed by the foresight of our fair board members to have such a great facility! It has been wonderful to have various fair and non-fair activities and events scheduled over the years. The timeless pavilion continues to host the Sangamon County Fair Queen pageant in June of each year. The newly crowned Queen represents Sangamon County and continues on to vie for the title of Miss Illinois County Fair Queen held in January.
Viola Suits Palumbo founded the Illinois County Fair Queen pageant in 1954. The state pageant was initially held at the Armory building in Springfield, outgrew that location and moved to the Holiday Inn located off of Dirksen Parkway in Springfield. Later when the Holiday Inn was demolished, the much larger Crowne Plaza was built in 1997 to take its place. The Miss Illinois County Fair Queen pageant and Illinois Association of Agricultural Fairs Convention continues to be hosted at the Crowne Plaza in Springfield where today it is said to be the largest convention held in Springfield.
PAST QUEENS
1959 Yvonne Smith-Beveridge
1960 Margaret Rossiter-Hoffman
1961 Carol Lott-Sullivan
1962 Sylvia Boosinger-Gary (2nd Runner-Up)
1963 Ruthann Bomke-Stevens
1964 Madeline Baskett
1965 Susan Hoppin-Berry
1966 Barbara Shoenthal-Delk (Finalist)
1967 Gay Damery-Scherer (State Queen)
1968 Sherry Chastian-Graf
1969 Jacki Roberts-Ferri (2nd Runner-Up)
1970 Isabelle Robinette-Giokaris
1971 Janet Londrigan-Krigbaum
1972 Carolyn Twyford-Ford
1973 Mary Gumble-Levy
1974 Debora Marr-Van Tuyle (Finalist)
1975 Pamela Beams-Fuller
1976 Jody Fawns-Freedlund
1977 Andrea Hankins-Ruedi
1978 Regina Hutton-Santarelli (Finalist)
1979 Sally Lane-Glenn (Finalist)
1980 Kim Hill-Brown (Finalist)
1981 Vicki Johnson-Sommer (State Queen)
1982 Cheryl Hill-Washko (State Queen)
1983 Cheryl Swann-Bradley
1984 Kathy Forgas-Elderhorst (State Queen)
1985 Leslie Cully-Seene
1986 Heather Selinger-Schaffer (Swimsuit)
1987 Debbie Twyford-Copp (Interview)
1988 Kerry Marr-Ingram
1989 Dana McNeely-Greene
1990 Debbie Tureskis
1991 Hyla Brown-Kipp (Finalist)
1992 Elissa Howard (Speech)
1993 Darre’ Williams-Porter (Finalist)
1994 Erin Duesterhaus (State Queen)
1995 Jennifer Howard (Interview)
1996 Nicole Luna
1997 Jessica Sager-Burke (Finalist)
1998 Tabitha Hinman-Stone (1st Runner-Up)
1999 Annie Finley-Weller (2nd Runner-Up)
2000 Malia Bishof (Finalist)
2001 Stephanie Custer
2002 Rachel Sunderlin-Egan (Finalist)
2003 Katie Neuman-Smith (Speech)
2004 Rachael Atchison-Buraski (Interview)
2005 Brooke Sunderlin (Finalist)
2006 Allison Hinman-Buzick (Finalist)
2007 Debbie Dobbins-Kramer
2008 Morgan Metz (State Queen)
2009 Kara Burger-Paluska
2010 Katy Duewer (Finalist)
2011 Cara Workman-Meteer (Finalist)
2012 Natalie Foss (Finalist)
2013 Anna Workman
2014 Anna Washko
2015 Megan Urbas
2016 Kerby Ingram
2017 Alyssa McGarvey
2018 Chloe Leonard
2019 Toby Giganti
2021 Sydney Geyston
2022 Meadow Sporrer
2023 Brook Stuebs
