Meet your fair queen
By Phyllis Moore
Published in News on October 4, 2015 1:50 AM
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News-Argus/CASEY MOZINGO
Rebecca Drew, right, the 2014 Queen of the Fair, crowns her successor, Brooke Kornegay as the 2015 Queen of the Fair on Friday.
On a day when cancellations popped up almost as quickly as the rain clouds, the Queen of the Fair Contest went off without a hitch Friday night.
Midday, officials with the Wayne Regional Agricultural Fair made the decision to call off everything except the signature event.
There have been torrential downpours in the past, but the indoor pageant has never been canceled, although it had once come close, said Director Gaye Hare, recalling the year Hurricane Floyd blew through.
"The queen was the only thing open that night," she had said in an earlier interview. "We walked from wherever to the entertainment arena and some guys laid some plywood for us to walk on."
Friday night the rains made visibility almost impossible, but once inside, the near capacity crowd was there for one purpose -- to witness the crowning of the 2015 Queen of the Fair.
"I kind of expected this place to look like a ghost town," admitted Emcee Casey Sutton, as she welcomed the audience.
Ten contestants competed in "three and one-half" events, Ms. Sutton said -- talent, which accounted for 40 percent of their score, casual wear, evening wear and on-stage question, each worth 20 percent.
During the costume changes, entertainment was provided by Ms. Sutton, whose song selections included "Toy Guns" and "Girl Crush" while Whitney Grantham, Queen of the Fair 2007, sang "Something in the Water" and the hilarious "Taylor the Latte Boy."
But when all the votes were tallied, the crown went to a crowd favorite who secured the spot with her jazz dance routine to Olly Murs "Dance with Me Tonight."
Contestant No. 9, Brooke Kornegay, a senior at Southern Wayne High School, had her name called twice -- first as Nikki Painter Talent Award recipient and then for the 2015 Queen of the Fair title.
The 17-year-old daughter of David and Cheryl Kornegay of Mount Olive began taking dance lessons at age 3 and is currently in the senior company at Artistic Dance Academy. Currently ranked No. 2 in her graduating class, she is a member of the National Honor Society and active in both her church, Mount Olive Presbyterian, and her community, supporting such events as Relay for Life.
She said she aspires to attend nursing school at East Carolina University. Her involvement in HOSA, or Health Occupations Students of America, provided the basis for her on-stage question -- "How has being a member of HOSA prepared you to become a nurse?"
"(It has) shown me the different qualities that a nurse must have," she said. "A nurse must be compassionate and caring and I think that is in my character.
"My passion is to help other people and I believe that being a nurse would be an occupation for me because I could leave my job at the end of the day knowing that I've impacted someone's life."
As the newly minted representative who will preside over an array of events at the fair and in the coming year, she said she was looking forward to the opportunity.
"I have watched (the pageant) ever since I was young," she said after being crowned. "I hope that I can set a good example."
First runner-up was Amelia Marriner, a junior at Wayne School of Engineering, who played the violin and performed an Irish dance.
Second runner-up was Bailey Stamper, a junior at Charles B. Aycock High School, who performed a tap dance to "Lady and the Tramp." She was also selected by her fellow contestants as Miss Congeniality.
Third runner-up was Gabriela Borralles, a senior at Spring Creek High School, who performed a lyrical dance to "Smoke" by Plumb.
Prizes awarded included in-kind scholarships from the University of Mount Olive. The queen received a $2,000 scholarship, while the first runner-up award is $1,500, with $1,000 given to the second runner-up and $500 to the third runner-up.
Other contestants included Mackenzie Minchew, a sophomore at Rosewood High who performed a lyrical dance; Rebecca Rodriguez, a CBA sophomore who did a lyrical dance; Maria Ortiz, Southern Wayne sophomore who sang an a capella song in Spanish; Marta Baltazar, a Southern Wayne sophomore who performed a jazz routine; Jana Foote, a Rosewood senior who sang "Only Hope" from "A Walk to Remember"; and Shayla Marak, a Rosewood senior who song the Beyonce version of "Ave Maria."