Schneiter, Bergfeld named ’22 GJCF royalty

     The week of the fair this year was full of excitement, smiles, tears and new experiences for the 2022 Great Jones County Fair royalty.

   On Tuesday evening, July 19, Reagan Schneiter of Monticello was crowned GJCF Queen. Grace Bergfeld of Cascade was crowned Fair Princess.

   The candidates all voted and named Alyssa Lux “Miss Congeniality.”

   This was a new fair experience for Schneiter, who exhibits livestock in the 4-H/FFA Beef Show.

   This year she showed a commercial-bred heifer; and she and her brother, Lincoln, showed a cow/calf.

   “It felt the same, but it was different,” she shared. “I was out in the showring with a crown on.”

   During the fair, Schneiter typically spends a lot of time in the barns preparing for the Beef Show. She credits her father, Ron, for putting in some time while she performed her royal duties.

   “Shout-out to him for his hard work while I was out waving to people,” she laughed.

   Schneiter said she was thankful she got to show in the Beef Show.

   “It was really good perk that I didn’t have to give that up.”

   As a kid, Schneiter looked up to other fair queens.

   “It always meant the world to me when they would stop and take pictures (with people),” she said.

   Being active in her community and an avid fairgoer, she knew she wanted to run for fair queen.

   During the pageant, Schneiter had people on stage for a round of “Fair Feud,” a play on the popular game show “Family Feud.”

   “I always watch ‘Family Feud’ because I love Steve Harvey,” she said. “There are so many things I love about the fair. So I wanted to do a skit that involved everything I love and involve the crowd.”

   What the public does not see are the interview questions with the candidates for fair queen. During the rapid-fire Q&A session, Schneiter was asked what her biggest pet peeve was.

   “I said holes in people’s socks, which is not my biggest pet peeve,” she admitted. “I just said it. It was a good laugh from the judges.”

   Throughout the whole experience, from the fair kick-off event to the pageant and making her way around the fair for the week, Schneiter said she learned a lot of life skills. She was forced to speak in front of crowds and introduce herself as “Fair Queen” many times.

   “You open up the community with people you’ve never seen before,” she said.

   Standing on stage Tuesday night, the girls all exhibited nerves and excitement at the same time.

   “For anyone who would have won, we would have all been super excited,” expressed Schneiter.

   It wasn’t until her full name was called that it hit her.

   “I was still processing it. It was crazy.”

   Taking in the daily Fair Board meetings was an eye-opening experience for Schneiter. They truly got a sense for just how many people it takes to pull off a successful fair.

   “Without everybody taking a part, the fair wouldn’t be what it is,” praised Schneiter. “They don’t get as much credit as they deserve. They put in a lot of work; early mornings and late nights.”

   Her highlight of the week, though, was getting a wave and a smile backstage from county artist Lee Brice.

   “That made my day. I had tears in my eyes. I couldn’t stop talking about it all week.”

   In mid-August, Schneiter will head to the Iowa State Fair to compete for State Fair Queen with 101 other girls from across the state. While she’s attended the State Fair before, this will also be a different experience.

   “I’m excited to meet new girls. I hope to spark new friendships,” she said.

   In August, Schneiter will be a senior at Monticello High School.

   She urges other young girls to consider running for fair queen.

   “It’s not a beauty pageant. It’s all about your community and the fair,” she said. “People who are involved and want to represent their community, I hope they continue to run. It’s life changing.”

   Bergfeld decided to run for fair queen knowing it would be a fun experience.

   “Ellen (Schlarmann, co-organizer) DM’ed (direct-messaged) me on Instagram and randomly asked me if I wanted to do it,” she shared.

   When her name was announced as Fair Princess, Bergfeld was shocked.

   “All I could think about was how badly my feet were hurting in heels,” she said of standing on the stage. “So many people had so much potential in this contest. I didn’t think I’d get it at all. All of these girls have very special talents and very special things about themselves. I heard my name as princess and had a priceless reaction.”

   Bergfeld has never exhibited livestock, so handing out ribbons and plaques at the livestock shows was a whole new fair experience for her.

   “I learned a lot while handing out ribbons in the show barns, how they judge certain livestock. To be on the same level as those kids was super cool.”

   During her pageant skit, Bergfeld gave a recipe for the perfect cup of coffee, but with a fair twist. As a barista in Dubuque, she’s quite passionate about coffee.

   “I like to express what I love. I chose to do that through coffee.”

   At the end of her skit, she handed the judges each a cup of coffee.

   One of the interview questions that stuck out to Bergfeld was, “What color would you be?” She chose yellow.

   “Because it’s vibrant. I consider myself a very bright and outgoing person,” she said.

   In her advice to others looking to run for fair queen, Bergfeld said just because you’re not in 4-H or FFA doesn’t mean you can’t try.

   “Be confident and be yourself,” she urged. “You’ll take this experience with you for the rest of your life, even if you win or not.”