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Thrilling 1999 Boone County pageant crowns incoming winners
By Anne Eickstadt
ANNE EICKSTADT PHOTO Belvidere Republican
2018 Little Miss Annabelle Torres and Queen Kayla Konieczki join the 2019 Queen, Little Miss and Mr. Lyle Lee.
Editor
Boone County’s 60th Queen and Little Miss contest coincides with Mickey Mouse’s 90th birthday. In honor of these special dates, Mickey and Minnie Mouse made a surprise appearance at the end of the big production number during the pageant. None of the contestants were aware that Mickey and Minnie would appear and were just as thrilled as everyone else when they saw their special guests.
The 2019 Boone County Fair just held its 60th Pageant and crowned Emily Carter as its new Queen. Emily is the 17-year-old daughter of Bill and Angie Carter of Caledonia.
Emily attends Belvidere North High School and will be entering her senior year.
Future plans for Emily include an undergraduate degree in Biomedical Science at the University of Central Florida and then continue to medical school at John Hopkins University to become a Pediatric Surgeon or Pediatrician.
Emily is currently employed at Peak fitness as a zumba instructor, a Thunder Youth Spirit Revolution cheer coach and a Roscoe Middle School assistant cheer coach.
Emily’s awards include National Honor Society, National Spanish Honor Society, National Science Honor Society, National English Honor Society, Vice President of Student Council, President of Best Buddies, Honor Society of Torch and Laurel, High Honors Honor Roll – Freshman, Sophomore and Junior Years,
She is a three time NIC-10 Conference Champion for Cheer, a three time Sectional Champion for Cheer, three time IHSA State Champion for Cheer, three time NCA All American for Cheer, NCA Top All American for Cheer, NCA Cheer All Star National Champion, Summit Cheer All Star National Champion, 20+ National Titles/Championships in All Star Cheer and Dance, and a six time NIC-10 Scholar Athlete.
Emily performed in the Disney Christmas Day Parade with the Broadway cast of Newsies and performed in the Philadelphia Thanksgiving Day Parade as an NCA All- American performer. She is a past Talent Show winner at the Boone County Fair. She has been selected to represent Belvidere North Varsity Cheer Team for the upcoming series on channel 17 and 39, and selected to perform in the 2019 Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade in New York City.
Emily’s activities include Student Council, Best Buddies, Youth Restorative Council, Northway Mentor, Key Club, N Club, Spanish Club, and Belvidere North High School Varsity Cheer (Sideline and Co-Ed Competitive Team). She volunteers more than ten hours per month at community events, ten years of All-Star Cheer, and seven years of Competitive Dance.
Emily also enjoys sewing, cooking shopping and exercising.
Emily was sponsored by Cheng Orthodontics and her platform was Social Equality for Students with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities.
Of the 20 contestants for the title of Little Miss Boone County 2019, the winner is Marrah Jayde Vander Vennet, age 7. She is the daughter of David and Jodi Vander Vennet of Garden Prairie who sponsored her in the Pageant.
Mr. Lyle Lee had high words of praise for the outgoing 2018 Queen and Little Miss. “It’s been an honor and a privilege to work with these two girls,” he said. “They did an excellent job, an outstanding job.”
The outgoing Little Miss Annabelle Torres and Queen Kayla Konieczki gave emotional speeches as they ended their reigning year and passed on their titles and duties to the incoming court members. They enjoyed themselves at the Fair throughout the week with Annabelle Torres winning the Lip Synch Contest on Thursday in a lively performance of Jailhouse Rock.
It will be a busy year for the 2019 Queen and Little Miss. Watch for them at any of the events and special occasions around Boone County. You never know when they will appear.
