The Switzerland County 4-H Fair will crown its 2016 Miss Switzerland County in a pageant that is set for Thursday, June 30th.
The pageant will be held in the cafeteria of Switzerland County High School, and will begin at 7 p.m.
This year there are five candidates vying for the title of Miss Switzerland County. The winner and her court will then reign over this year’s 4-H Fair, which will be held from July 9th-16th. The winner will also represent Switzerland County in the Miss Indiana State Fair pageant, which will be held in August.
Here are this year’s candidates:
– SUMMER JEWELL DICKERSON is the daughter of Bridgett Miller and Mark Dickerson. She is 17 years old, and will be a senior this fall at Switzerland County High School. She is being sponsored in the contest by the Kountry Kids 4-H Club.
She is active in the Business Professionals of America organization at the high school, where she has served as secretary and historian, and has been elected President. She serves as secretary of her class; plays on the varsity softball team; and is a member of student council. She was the first runner up in the Sweetheart Pageant; and the second runner up in the Queen of Hearts Pageant. She is also a member of the Fellowship of Christian Athletes and Students Against Destructive Decisions.
Her career ambition is to serve in the U.S. Air Force.
– McKENNA LEIGH EDWARDS is being sponsored by RS Home Sales in the pageant, and she will be a freshman this fall at IUPUI in Indianapolis. She is the daughter of Michael and Marla Edwards, and is 18 years old.
She was the 2012 Edelweiss Teen Princess; the 2014 Glencoe Frontier Days Princess; the 2015 FFA Queen of Hearts; and the 2015 Edelweiss Princess. She was a varsity cheerleader in high school, serving as captain her senior year; and also was a member of the varsity softball team. She earned the Senior Scholastic Award; was a Top 10 Senior; and was President of the Business Professionals of America. She was a delegate to Hoosier Girls State; and serves on the Swiss Wine Festival Planning Board.
Her career plans are to double major in philanthropy and tourism, events, and conventions management; and hopes to plan fundraising events for a nonprofit organization.
– ROBIN FURNISH is being sponsored in the contest by Bowling Farm Equipment, Darrin Bowling. She is 20 years old, will be a junior this fall at Trine University; and is the daughter of Rob and Cheryl Furnish.
She currently serves as a summer assistant in the Switzerland County Extension office; was the second runner up and Miss Congeniality in the 2015 Miss Switzerland County contest and the first runner up in the 2014 Miss Switzerland County contest; and was a 2015 American Degree recipient. She was the 2014 winner of the Lilly Endowment Scholarship; is a member of the Society of Women Engineers; the American Chemical Society; and the Biomedical Engineering Society.
She plans on earning a Ph.D. in Tissue Engineering and hopes to operate a research lab with focus on drug development or regenerative medicine.
– CAMERON RAY is 17 years old and the daughter of Eric Ray and Katina Carter. She will be a senior this fall at Switzerland County High School, and is being sponsored in the pageant this year by Wagging Tails Dog Grooming.
She is a member of the National Honor Society; and is active on both the cross country and track teams. She earned the Mental Attitude Award in cross country this past season; and in 2010-2011 she was named as the Most Valuable Runner on the cross country team and the Most Valuable Distance Runner on the track team. She is also very active in 4-H, where she has earned awards for horsemanship; had the Grand Champion Dog in 2014; the Grand Champion Pocket Pet in 2014; and had the Grand Champion Dog poster in 2014.
After graduation Cameron plans on attending college to pursue a career as a veterinarian.
– KARA A. WALCOTT will be a senior this fall at Switzerland County High School, and she is the daughter of Katee Goodpaster. She is 17 years old, and is being sponsored in the pageant this year by Bob’s Tack Shop.
Kara has been the secretary of the 4-H Junior Leaders organization for five years; served as secretary of her freshman class and treasurer of her sophomore class; and earned the Sunshine Award in band her freshman and sophomore years. She is a member of the National Junior Honor Society and the National Honor Society; has served as a counselor at 4-H Camp for four years; and has consistently earned inclusion on the Honor Roll.
After graduating from high school, Kara’s career ambition is to study to be a dental hygienist.