Fair queen competes for state title

When Jordan Behrens heads to Hershey this afternoon, it will be with the well-wishes of hundreds of Carbon County residents, especially those in the farming community and members of the local Lions and Lioness clubs.

Jordan, who is the reigning Carbon County Fair Queen, will be a contestant in the Pennsylvania Fair Queen State Competition over the next three days. This is the first time the current fair leadership will sponsor a contestant at the state competition.

"We are so excited to be sending someone to the state level," says Kristin Simmons, a member of the fair queen committee. "Jordan will make an excellent candidate for state fair queen. She has been a terrific asset to our fair and the community."

Simmons says Jordan attends the monthly fair board meetings and provides input about new ideas.

That input is important to the 20-year-old college student. The daughter of Josiah and Joann Behrens of Penn Forest Township, Jordan grew up on the family farm, where she enjoys cutting and baling hay, and cultivates her own garden, growing a variety of vegetables.

"The agriculture industry is really important in Carbon County, especially because it is the number one industry in Pennsylvania, and we have a lot of farms in Carbon County," says Jordan.

"We need food and providing local, homegrown products is important. People should support that, and I think the fairs are a great way to promote it."

Jordan graduated in the top 10 percent of her class at Jim Thorpe Area High School in 2012. She was involved in various activities, including the band, Students Against Destructive Decisions, National Honor Society and Student Council.

Last year she graduated magna cum laude from Lehigh Carbon Community College with an associate degree.

She is currently a student at Penn State University, where she is pursuing a bachelor's degree in surveying engineering.

Jordan has worked as a tour guide at the Asa Packer Mansion in Jim Thorpe, and as a clerk at the Recorder of Deeds office. She volunteers with Family Promise of Carbon County, and was a drum line instructor at her alma mater.

Over the next three days, Jordan will compete against 58 other fair queens from across the commonwealth. The pageant is held in conjunction with the annual Pennsylvania State Association of County Fairs and the Pennsylvania State Showmen's Association Convention at the Hershey Lodge & Convention Center.

Not a beauty pageant

The contest, which is in its 29th year, is growing, says Bitsey Kopfinger, correspondence coordinator for the state fair queen pageant, and a member of its board of directors.

"This is a scholarship program," says Kopfinger, "not a beauty pageant. They will be judged on poise, personality, essay, and the judges will judge them on their speech. These young ladies are all pretty decent kids. We're dealing with the best and some of the nicest young ladies in the state of Pennsylvania."

Kopfinger says the pageant judges, which include two women and one man this year, are all certified fair executives.

"I wouldn't want to be one of them," she says, indicating that this year's crop of contestants has a lot to offer.

In addition to the scheduled events for the contestants, the judges will observe them over the three days. The girls must follow a strict dress code and a strict code of ethics.

This evening Jordan will introduce herself at the convention banquet, before approximately 1,000 guests. In addition to that introduction, she will be judged on a written essay on "What My Fair Means to My Community," a personal interview with the panel of judges, and a speech presentation on "Why You Should Come to My Fair."

Jordan has been rehearsing her speech, and was able to practice in front of an audience last Friday, at a meeting of the Carbon County Fair Board.

"I feel prepared and confident," she says. "I think that my speech encompasses all that the Carbon County Fair is."

The 2015 Pennsylvania Fair Queen and one alternate will be crowned on Saturday evening. The winner will receive a $2,500 scholarship, and the alternate a $1,000 scholarship, after they have met all of their obligations.

If Jordan is the winner of the state competition, she would still serve out the remainder of her term as county fair queen. If she cannot make an appearance, however, Melissa Nothstein, runner-up, will represent the Carbon County Fair.

The new state fair queen will be required to attend fairs and other events across the commonwealth, and will represent the state county fair association. She will also be expected to promote greater public understanding, awareness and interest in Pennsylvania agriculture.

Kopfinger says the queen must attend the convention, report to and represent the Department of Agriculture, visit with state legislators, and represent the youth and the county fairs. While doing so, she must always "act like a lady," Kopfinger adds.

Kopfinger says the fair queen program is a first-class event.

"It's a steppingstone for the future; these kids come out way ahead," she says.

"It's really a chance of a lifetime."