Heart-to-heart goodbyes and heartfelt hellos marked the 2017 Geauga County Maple Festival Queen Pageant April 26 at Geauga Lyric Theater.
Heart-to-heart goodbyes and heartfelt hellos marked the 2017 Geauga County Maple Festival Queen Pageant April 26 at Geauga Lyric Theater.
“The only time a goodbye is painful is when you know you’ll never say hello again,” said Makenzie Healy, 2016 Geauga Maple Festival Queen, as she thanked her community during her parting speech. “This is my life. Festivals, parades, fair food, meeting others and serving my community. It’s what I love to do with every ounce of passion in me.”
A new year rang in new royal representatives with a festival tradition that began in 1926.
Maddi Johnson is 2017 Maple Festival Queen and RJ Jefferson is 2017 Maple Festival King. Both attend West Geauga High School.
Noelle Baker, from Chardon High School, is first-runner-up and Abby Harvey, from Newbury High School, is second-runner-up.
“Everyone who runs for a royal title works hard from the preliminary interviews on Tappin’ Sunday all the way to the night of the pageant,” said Angela May, member of Maple Festival Queens Committee. “Contestants are required to solicit donations from local businesses for our pageant auction as well as complete community service in the shape of volunteering in the stir booth. They work hard on their skits and pageant performance as well. Choosing a winner is never an easy task and I give props to our hard working judges for the thought they put into choosing just one winner.”
Judging kicked off mid-March with one-on-one interviews.
“I feel very honored to be selected queen,” Johnson said. “So much of Geauga County has greatly influenced my life, taking care of horses and livestock, exploring the great outdoors, tapping maple trees and learning in the excellent school systems. I am so happy to represent our wonderful maple community.”
Johnson is a senior at West Geauga High School. She is a figure skater and plays hockey for her school. She plans on attending Miami University.
“I will be studying bioengineering with a minor in mechanical engineering,” Johnson said. “I will be part of the equestrian team and figure skating with the Miami Skating Club.”
Johnson shared fond maple sugaring and festival memories.
While growing up, Johnson said her dad started with two taps, adding more every year until they reached 240.
“We had stocks pots filled to the brim with syrup at canning time,” Johnson said. “I would eat syrup with a spoon, who needs pancakes? Delicious homemade syrup is the best treat any time of year. We would come to the Maple Festival to see the contest results and have maple cotton candy.”
She added, “The best day of the year in middle school was after school on maple festival Thursday, when everyone walked to the square together. All our friends were there.”
RJ Jefferson is a freshman at West Geauga High School. He is active in 4-H as a member of Geauga Prime Time 4-H Club. This year, he is planning to show a turkey, a duck and a steer in competition at The Great Geauga County Fair.
“To me, it means that I can take on a bigger responsibility and represent the county I love and grew up in,” Jefferson said. “It is a great honor to be able to do this and I take great pride in being the 2017 Maple Festival King. I will do my best to make Geauga County proud.”
May thanked GTV for streaming the show live via the Internet and Geauga Lyric Theater.
“I thought this year’s pageant was a complete success,” May said. “This year, we had five amazing qualified contestants representing four local high schools running for queen and one fantastic young man that ran for king. We are so happy to have these great kids representing the festival and Geauga County and look forward to seeing the friendships they will build with royalty at the end of all the other festivals in Ohio over the next year.”
She added, “I am looking forward to the group attending as many festivals as possible and representing our festival in a positive way. They are super excited to see what the next year brings.”
Healy shared parting advice for Johnson at the annual Geauga County Maple Festival Royal Luncheon.
“This is your year, do what you want and do not let anyone change your plan,” Healy said. “You got crowned for a reason, so make every second count because next year, when you’re in my shoes trying to figure out what to say in this moment, you’ll go back to what everyone told you to do, but you did not. You do not have to be the stereotypical queen either. Just be you.”
