When the top four finalists were announced, Jennah Garrison was surprised to be among them.With only two titles remaining to be awarded at the 2014 Warren County Queen Contest, she turned to her left and offered her congratulations. But the 2014 Warrenton High School graduate had counted herself out prematurely.On Tuesday evening, it was Garrison who would be wearing the crown.“I was shocked,” acknowledged Garrison. “Going into it, I didn’t have many expectations.”She outlasted nine other contestants to be named the 2014 Warren County Fair Queen.“It’s something I’ve always watched growing up, but until you actually experience it, there’s no way to compare,” said the lifelong fairgoer.She was crowned by the 2013 Fair Queen Hannah Keene.Garrison believes a unique commitment to her hometown helped her stand out among the competition. She is a member of FFA, 4-H and the Warrenton Fire Explorers and a volunteer with Special Olympics.“I definitely think being involved in the community most of my life helped, because it was easy to talk about the Fair,” said Garrison.She received a $1,000 scholarship and is planning on attending East Central College to play softball and become an EMT. But first she has a busy slate of events to preside over as the ambassador for this year’s Fair.“I’ve been a part of the Fair as long as I can remember, and I think I’ve grown up along with it,” said Garrison. “I really enjoy the livestock side of the Fair.”It took some coaxing by co-workers to convince Garrison to enter the queen contest.“I was encouraged by the people I work with,” said Garrison, who was sponsored by her employer, Electric Beach Tanning Salon.Daphe Meine, sponsored by Specialty Auto Body, was named first runner-up. She received a $500 scholarship.“The girls have been fantastic, and I can’t wait to get this week started,” asserted MeineA 2014 Warrenton High School graduate, Meine also won the top interview award.“This was a great experience in general,” said Meine. “I got to be close with a lot of girls I wasn’t necessarily close with in high school, so it made the bonds a lot stronger.”She plans on attending Missouri State University to double major in marketing and business administration.Others making the final cut were second runner-up Megan Abel (Gastorf Chevrolet) and third runner-up Chelsea Crump (Sharper Image). They received $250 and $100 scholarships, respectively.Abel was also the winner of the evening gown competition.Sam Swoboda, sponsored by Lewis-Bade, was awarded top speech title. Meanwhile, Alli Banze, sponsored by TS Banze Construction, was recognized for top ticket sales. She was awarded a Thirty-One bag and was part of the effort which helped sell a record 230 season passes to the Fair.Megan Lewis, the only contestant from Wright City, was chosen by her peers as Miss Congeniality.“I think it means they think a lot about me as a person, which is nice,” said Lewis.She was excited to represent her hometown, which she says often gets overlooked. Despite having attended a different school, Lewis says she was familiar with many of her fellow contestants.“I played softball with a lot of the girls, and I know them from around the Fair,” said Lewis.But her positive, encouraging demeanor even made an impression on those who had previously been strangers.“I like meeting new people,” said Lewis. “It was nice to get to talk to some of the girls I hadn’t got to know well before.”Judging for this year’s ceremony was completed just before the coronation ceremony on Tuesday. The interview, speech and evening gown competitions were conducted on June 28.This year’s pageant organizers were Andrea and Vickie Vohsen and Christy Bonstell.Emcees were 2013 Queen Ashley Bauer and 2010 Queen Kelley Roseman.

Jennah Garrison was crowned the 2014 Warren County Fair queen.

Jana Todd photo.