By Dave Dahl
SPRINGFIELD – This year’s Illinois State Fair Queen has entered two pageants in her life and won them both.
Samantha Hasselbring qualified for the statewide pageant by winning her local pageant in Iroquois County. She is going to be a junior at Millikin University and is majoring in elementary education.
“I grew up on a farm,” the 20-year-old Hasselbring says. “My dad farms corn and soybeans, and he also raises cattle, so I’ve been involved in agriculture my whole life. I’ve been in FFA and 4-H, so coming to the Illinois State Fair as Miss Illinois County Fair Queen is just a dream; just for me being a little 4-H-er looking up to the Illinois County Fair Queen, it’s just been an absolute dream and full circle for me starting out.”
She says the pageant competition requires poise and confidence, not just beauty.