“A lion’s attributes are similar to mine, well not totally,” she said. “I’m tenacious, I go after what I want. But I also, like in the movie Lion King, believe in family and keeping communities together.”
Daniel Marcum, a 17-year-old from New Miami, was crowned king. He and the other finalists were asked whether they would rather be a strong leader or a devoted volunteer.
“I prefer to be a strong leader because you’ve got to have your strong leaders and you’ve got to have your strong followers, but I prefer to be out in front helping all the people I can as best I can,” Marcum said. “If you don’t help out you don’t get anything done.”
Vessel said leaders and volunteers have similar qualities.
“I would prefer to be known as a strong leader. I think a devoted volunteer is one of the attributes of a strong leader,” she said. “As a strong leader you have to know how to give back, give your time to other people, like 4-H, being a camp counselor, being on junior fair board, that’s all volunteer work but we also have to lead.”
Vessel and Marcum were chosen among 18 queen and two king contestants, who walked the spotlighted runway Sunday morning. All contestants were first interviewed last week, when the top 10 queen candidates were chosen. Junior Fair Coordinator Julie Dalzell said the panel of three judges factor in the contestants responses to two questions in the final round.
“They are selected mainly on their leadership and their poise and personality as well as how they answer questions here at the competition,” she said.
Both Vessel and Marcum were beaming after the competition. Their predecessors, 2010 Fair King and Queen Evan Hingsbergen and Emily Johnson, said they know they have a busy week ahead of them, but they are up to the challenge.
“It still hasn’t set in yet,” Vessel said. “I’m so excited and Daniel will be a great king. We’re going to have a great time.”
Contact this reporter at (513) 696-4525 or dcallahan@coxohio.com.
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