Student chosen as Wisconsin Fairest of the Fairs_South Dakota State University[사우스다코타주립대]
South Dakota State University junior Rebecca Starkenburg was recently chosen as the 2017 Wisconsin Fairest of the Fairs. She was selected at the 94th annual Wisconsin Association of Fairs Convention. The daughter of David and Robin Starkenburg of DeForest, Wisconsin, Starkenburg is majoring in agriculture communications and minoring in animal science and meat science.
Starkenburg, who represented the Lodi Agricultural Fair, was one of 39 contestants from county and district fairs throughout Wisconsin.
The Wisconsin Fairest of the Fairs program is designed to select an ambassador for the Wisconsin Association of Fairs, which represents all 76 Wisconsin county, district and state fairs. This year marked the 51st crowning of the Wisconsin Fairest of the Fairs.
Each year, the Fairest of the Fairs travels throughout Wisconsin promoting the educational, agricultural, social, cultural and commercial opportunities available at the state’s fairs.
“I was not planning to win,” Starkenburg said. “I’m competitive but I was really excited about the opportunity and being able to meet the other contestants.”
After qualifying to be in the competition’s final 10, Starkenburg was the last candidate named for the top five.
“I said to myself, ‘if it stops here, I’ll be good with it,’” she said, noting the final round had the contestants march off stage, then return to answer a final question. The finalists were asked to use fair as acronym to explain their local fair. “When I heard the question, I thought of F for fun and quickly thought about what comes next. For me, it was ‘agriculture, intelligence and responsibility.’
“I figured the others had really good answers so I didn’t really think about it,” Starkenburg continued. “However, when my name didn’t come up for the other places … it was total shock.”
Starkenburg received a cash prize and an internship to go with a car for the travel she will do for the rest of 2017.
“Most of the events will take place over the summer so I’m going to move back to Wisconsin for the summer,” she said. “It’ll be a balancing act but I’ve been able to balance three jobs and being a student.”
As the Fairest of the Fairs, Starkenburg would like to teach others about agriculture.
“I’d like to change how consumers and fairgoers look at agriculture,” she said. “When you ask most people what they think about farming, you get straw hats, overalls … the things from 50 years ago.
“I want to tell them about what we’re doing today; how advanced farmers and ranchers are and how they make conservation a priority in their operations,” Starkenburg continued. “There is a lot of technology involved, too. The exhibitors currently do a great job already but I’d like to coach them to help make agriculture relatable to the audience. The fair is often the first view of agriculture for people and we need to help them understand how it works.”
Starkenburg started serving her one-year term in January.
In addition, she will serve as hostess of the 2017 Wisconsin State Fair, presented by U.S. Cellular, which will take place Aug. 3-13. This includes greeting fairgoers and special guests, performing as master of ceremonies for several events during the fair, participating in various contests and representing the fair during select media appearances.
The Fairest of the Fairs is chosen by a panel of three judges representing the fair, communications and agriculture industries.
Starkenburg also works for the South Dakota Soil Health Coalition, volunteers at the Sioux Falls Sertoma Butterfly house and has held events on her family farm that allow the community to see and learn about the various farm animals.
Starkenburg hopes to pursue a communications and public relations career in the meat industry.
