Shirley resident brings home a win in pageant at Arkansas State Fair
SHIRLEY — As the 2015 Senior Mrs. Van Buren County Fair Queen, Phyllis Young said she entered the competition for the state title in Little Rock on Oct. 10 not knowing quite what to expect.
She won the state title that day and spent the next few days carrying out her duties as the 2015 Senior Mrs. Arkansas State Fair Queen.
Young, who lives with her husband, Doug, in the Pleasant Valley community near Shirley, said she was surprised she won the competition.
“It was very different than what I expected,” she said. “There were six contestants in the Senior Mrs. category (for contestants 61 and older) and seven
contestants in the Mrs. category (for contestants 40 to 60).
“We were lined up in alphabetical order, and I was the last one,” she said with a laugh. “We did a couple of walks across the stage together, and then the Mrs. contestants did their thing, and then we did ours.
“I can say that it was an experience,” Young said. “I can safely say I won’t be a pageant lady or girl again. This is my first and last experience with pageants. It’s been a good experience, and it will be a good year, but when it’s finished, I will be finished, too.”
Young said the Mrs. and Senior Mrs. contestants competed on the same day that children competed in the Little Mr. and Miss contests.
“There were 125 contestants in those pageants,” she said, adding that it was a little hectic. “They were all there with mothers and grandmothers.
“I think next year, they are going to move the Mrs. and Senior Mrs. competitions to the last Saturday, when the Fair Queen and Junior Fair Queen competitions are held.”
Young said her stage interview question was, “What volunteer work do you do in the community?”
She said she quickly answered: “Family cemetery, church work and the county fair.
“That’s what I’ve done for many years and what I will continue to do. Now I will add ‘representing the Arkansas State Fair.’”
Her first obligation as a queen involved participating in the Arkansas State Fair Parade on Oct. 11 in downtown Little Rock.
“I did something I’ve never done before. I rode on the back of a Corvette,” she said.
“It was really, really nice. We led the parade. I was fourth in line,” Young said.
“I’m still having fun,” she said Tuesday after a day of activities at the state fair.
Young said Tuesday’s activities included representing the state fair at a “meet-andgreet at a governor’s luncheon at Barton Coliseum.”
“The governor was not there, but the lieutenant governor was,” she said. “They announced plans for the renovation of Barton Coliseum.”
Young was scheduled to return to the fairgrounds Saturday and assist in the final competition of the Arkansas State Fair Queen and Junior Fair Queen pageants.
“I’ll wear my blue jeans during the day and my evening gown that night,” she said.
Young said she will appear at several events during the coming year as the 2015 Senior Mrs. Arkansas State Fair Queen.
“The next official activity is attending the Arkansas Fair Managers Convention in January in Hot Springs,” she said. “I’ll be there to meet and greet people and represent the Arkansas State Fair.
“It will be a different role for me,” said Young, who is secretary of the Van Buren County Fair Association in Clinton. “I’m normally down there representing the Van Buren County Fair Association.
“I’ll work all next year,
up until the time of the 2016 Senior Mrs. Arkansas State Fair Queen contest, when I will give up my crown. It will be fun.”