FAIRLAND -- The 174th Annual Shelby County Fair has its queen.
Hallie Schweitzer, a 2023 Triton Central graduate, was named the 2023 Shelby County Fair Queen Sunday night at a pageant held at Triton Central High School’s auditorium.
Schweitzer was one of 12 contestants judged on their interview skills, professional wear, and evening gown presentation. Schweitzer will be joined by a pair of Triton Central graduates on her court.
Kearsley Kermode (photo, third from left), a 2023 TC graduate, was named Miss Congeniality as voted by the other contestants, and was later crowned First Runner-up.
Madison Brown (photo, far right), another 2023 TC graduate, was Second Runner-up.
Beth Hodgin (photo, far left), a 2022 Morristown graduate now attending Ivy Tech, was the Third Runner-up.
Lennox Scheidler was selected as Little Miss Shelby County. Scheidler, age 5 and a kindergarten student at Loper Elementary in Shelbyville, bested seven other competitors Sunday.
Steven Wilson, age 7 and a second grader at Triton Central Elementary, was named Little Mr. Shelby County.
The Shelby County Fair runs from June 12-17 at the Shelby County Fairgrounds.
Schweitzer (photo), Triton Central’s co-valedictorian and a highly-decorated athlete, admitted she was not sure what she signed up for when she was asked to join the pageant.
“This is really exciting because I’ve done 4H and I’ve gone to the fair basically since I was born. Growing up here in Shelbyville, I think this is a really cool thing to do before I head off to college,” said Schweitzer.
The 12 contestants met with the panel of judges Sunday afternoon for an interview that was worth 50 points – or half of the total points in the competition. The contestants were judged on their poise and communication skills.
At 6 p.m. at Triton Central’s auditorium, the contestants took to the stage in front of a large crowd gathered to watch the event. The professional wear portion of the competition was worth 20 points while the evening gown portion, which also included answering a randomly-drawn question in front of the judges, was worth 30 points.
Schweitzer admitted she was nervous.
“It was so much fun being with everybody but we were very confused most of the time,” said Schweitzer while laughing. “We had our practice on Friday and it was the first time we walked through everything. It’s very specific … you turn here … and for this long … and this amount of time. It made me very nervous.”
Schweitzer is used to performing in front of large crowds as a volleyball, basketball, cross country and track and field athlete but she admitted the pageant world is not something she had experienced before Sunday.
“It was very different,” she said. “One time I was talking to my mom and I said, ‘What am I even doing? What is this pageant?’
“I was just going along with it and it was a lot of fun.”
Hallie Schweitzer is crowned 2023 Shelby County Fair Queen by 2022 Shelby County Fair Queen Emma Deaton Sunday at Triton Central High School's auditorium.
Schweitzer, age 18, will attend Purdue University in the fall to study Nursing. Her goal is to become a pediatric nurse practitioner.
Kermode, 18, Triton Central’s four-year class president and president of the student council, will attend Franklin College in the fall to study Accounting and Business. She wants to eventually take over her family’s dance studio.
Brown, another top student at TC and well-decorated athlete, will attend Indiana University to study Biology.
After Sunday’s pageant, the trio of Tigers and Hodgin will have a much-busier fair week schedule.
“I don’t show (animals) but I have 4H projects I’ve already turned in,” said Schweitzer. “I will get to see them but I don’t have to miss out on being the queen. I am so excited. And to be with my court all week – it’s going to be so much fun.”
Schweitzer’s coronation also enters her into the 2024 Indiana State Fair Queen pageant.
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