Stories of the fair: Stamper reigns as Queen of the Fair
By Phyllis Moore
Published in News on October 1, 2016 1:41 PM
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Bailey Stamper, a senior at Charles B. Aycock High School, is crowned Queen of the Fair 2016 by the former queen, Brooke Kornegay, Friday night during the Wayne Regional Agricultural Fair.
The 2016 Queen of the Fair is -- contestant No. 7, Bailey Stamper.
And with that announcement, the Wayne Regional Agricultural Fair was officially ushered in on Friday night in the entertainment arena.
Miss Stamper tapped her way to the top, performing to "Boogie Shoes" and also earning the Nikki Painter Munilla Talent Award, which accounted for 40 percent of the score in the contest.
The 17-year-old senior at Charles B. Aycock High School was a returnee to the competition.
She had participated in last year's event, earning second runner-up status and being chosen by her fellow contestants as Miss Congeniality.
"My best friend was in it my sophomore year and inspired me to come out here and try it," she said.
"When I didn't win last year it only gave me confidence to come back."
The daughter of Thayer and Amy Stamper is a member of the French Club, English Club, DECA and FBLA. She was her junior class treasurer and a member of the National Honor Society and was also elected Lt. Governor for the Carolinas District Key Club.
According to her bio, she enjoys reading, dancing, hanging out with friends and the mission trip she went on to Haiti last summer.
Her on-stage question, which accounted for 20 percent of the judges score, focused on the mission trip, asking how it impacted her as a person.
"Over the summer, I went to Haiti for a week, where we went and visited villages and children," she replied. "It has really taught me that I need to be thankful for all that I have and to come back and tell everyone just how much we do have to be thankful for."
Miss Stamper's future plans include attending East Carolina University honors college and majoring in accounting.
In the meantime, though, she said she is excited to be taking an active role of the Wayne Regional Fair she has grown up attending.
"I'm looking forward to whatever fair activities they have for me," she said after being crowned.
"Footloose" was this year's theme, said Susan Hare Herring, who directed the annual event with her mother, Gaye Hare. The seven contestants kicked off the evening dancing to the theme song from the movie of the same name.
Emcees for the evening were Shirley Proctor, executive director of the Miss Goldsboro pageant and herself the 1985 Queen of the Fair, and Desiree Autrey Houston, who owns a dance studio and was 1996 Queen of the Fair.
Casey Croom, reigning Miss Goldsboro, and Goldsboro's Outstanding Teen, Isabella Gaines, both dancers, also provided entertainment.
First runner-up was Jade Jordan, a senior at Charles B. Aycock, who performed a jazz dance.
Second runner-up was Isabelle Richards, a ninth-grader at Eastern Wayne High School who played the flute.
Third runner-up was Rebecca Rodriguez, a junior at CBA, who performed a jazz dance. She was also named Miss Congeniality.
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 Brianna Bass, a senior at Southern Wayne High, who sang "Jealous of the Angels; Maddison Schillinger, a sophomore at Rosewood High who performed a lyrical dance; and Antoinette Walker, a Southern Wayne senior who did a dance and baton routine.