CLEARFIELD – The position might come with a crown, but a lot of work goes into winning it.
Sara Elling, a Purchase Line graduate who plans to attend Slippery Rock, won the 2006 Clearfield County Fair Queen contest Sunday.
Elling is no stranger to the queen’s court, having just last year served as first runner-up for Misti Ellinger, 2005 Clearfield County Fair Queen.
The 2006 court also includes Melinda Korb, first runner-up; Danielle Maines, second runner-up; Leah Carr, third runner-up; and Sarah Read, fourth runner-up.
The young ladies will spend fair week doing a multitude of tasks, and the queen will work to promote the Clearfield County Fair throughout the year.
Elling will also go on to the Pennsylvania State Fair Queen contest in January where contestants from across the state will give their best to have the opportunity to be named state queen. Clearfield County’s most recent state fair queen was Jana (Duttry) Davidson who was the 1999 Clearfield County Fair Queen and the 2000 Pennsylvania State Fair Queen.
Sunday was also bittersweet as Ellinger’s reign as queen ended. She thanked the many people who helped her during her reign, especially Elling who was able to continue promoting the fair after Ellinger secured herself a job as a flight attendant. That very position, Ellinger said, would not have been possible without the knowledge and training she received through the fair queen program.
Elling and her court will also have fundraising duties to perform throughout the year. The Queens For Kids – Children’s Miracle Network fundraiser has raided $50,000 over five years for children with medical needs in Clearfield County.