DES MOINES — Emily Harney of Granger, the 2015 Dallas County Fair Queen, was named the First Runner-up at the Iowa State Fair Queen Pageant Saturday.
The daughter of Matt and LeAnne of Granger, Emily made history on the Anne and Bill Riley stage by becoming only the second Dallas County Queen ever named to the State Fair Queen’s court, which includes the queen and three runner-up winners from among 101 contestants.
Dallas County Fair Queen Kelsey Beytien Grabenstein was first runner-up in 2000, according to reliable reports.
Ellen Schlarmann, the Greater Jones County Queen, was named 2015 Iowa State Fair Queen moments after Harney was announced as the runner-up.
“I really am so happy for Ellen,” Harney said. “She was just so great the whole week, and they could not have picked a better queen.”
Kiley Elder of Marion County was the second runner-up and Sarah Ruby Clark of Monroe County the third runner-up. Raeann Victoria Hanlon of Calhoun County earned the Leadership Award, with Adair County’s Shelby Soper named the Personality-Plus winner.
Harney told ThePerryNews.com late Saturday evening that she had not stopped smiling since receiving her sash and floral bouquet hours earlier.
“I might still be smiling in my sleep,” she laughed. “The entire experience has just been incredible. I want to use my year as State Fair runner-up and as Dallas County queen to spread the word about what a great experience this has been and to encourage all the girls out there to give it a chance.”
“You never know,” she added, “it could be you. This was a life-long goal of mine; I feel like I could take on the world.”
The 2015 Dallas Center-Grimes graduate almost missed what she called “this incredible thrill” as she initially entered the Dallas County queen contest “on a whim.”
“I signed up real late,” she explained. “My whole life I have loved volunteering at my church, in FFA (Future Farmers of America) and at my school and this was something else that had always interested me, but I really did just decide at the last minute to try it.”
The state fair contestants stayed overnight in Des Moines Tuesday through Friday and faced a full schedule each day.
Each is individually interviewed twice. There is also a group interview session and a personal 60-second interview in which each candidate faces a series of rapid-fire questions on almost any topic that is designed to reveal, among other things, the poise of each young lady.
Numerous workshops are scattered throughout the several days, some of which are mandatory and some optional.
Laura Finneseth, 2012 Dallas County Fair Queen, said the workshops ranged from Zumba to martial arts to hair and make-up guidance, among many others. The Iowa School of Beauty, Iowa Hall of Pride, Ronald McDonald charities and many other venues and sponsors are involved in the workshops.
“I remember the workshops as a lot of fun,” the 2013 Perry High grad said, “but easily the most fun was getting to meet all these incredible girls from across Iowa.”
Harney agreed, adding that “I was excited to meet all these great girls and to get to know some of them pretty well. The networking we were all able to do is something I know everyone enjoyed.”
Unlike other pageants, the Iowa State Fair does not narrow down the initial list of contestants to a smaller group. Leaving all 101 county fair queens guessing whose name would be called while on stage Saturday added to the tension.
“You couldn’t look and say, ‘well, it is down to us 10, so I have a good chance’ and that made it more exciting,” Harney said. “When it got down to the final two is when I was most nervous. I thought ‘Can I really be one of these last two names?’ and then they said it and I just could not believe it.”
The scene backstage afterwards was one Harney described as “sheer joy.”
“My family and friends were going crazy,” she said. “Everyone was crying and hugging each other.
“I think even my little brother Joel (11) was happy,” Harney joked. “I also feel a tremendous amount of pride to think that of all the great Dallas County queens who did not get this far. This was for all of them, too, for our pride in Dallas County.”
As First Runner-up Harney receives a $1,300 scholarship, which she intends to use at DMACC, where she will begin pursuit of a degree in graphic design, with a minor in business marketing and event planning.
Along with her floral arrangement and sash, she also received a plaque and a $300 gift card from Jordan Creek Mall.
“All my friends know I just love to shop, so I am grateful for that as well,” she laughed. “You can bet I will be using that real soon.”
Harney will now have nearly a year in which she is entitled to appear at numerous events and parades, where she said she would be “proud to represent Dallas County” before crowning her successor next July in Adel.
Hours after receiving her honor Harney said the excitement was, understandably, slow to pass.
“It still seems almost unreal,” she said. “I don’t know when I will stop smiling, but I know it will not be anytime soon.”
