Five young ladies vying for crown of 2014 Allamakee County Fair Queen

Five Allamakee County young ladies are vying for the title of 2014 Allamakee County Fair Queen. That crown and all the honors and responsibilities that accompany it will be bestowed upon one of those candidates Tuesday evening, July 15 during the Allamakee County Fair Queen Pageant being held at the Allamakee County Fairgrounds Pavilion.
The pageant event will begin at 7 p.m. with a Youth Showcase, as members of the Future Farmers of America (FFA) chapter from Waukon High School will make presentations, as will top entrants from the 4-H Expressions Day held recently in Allamakee County.
This year's event will also feature an Allamakee County Royalty Showcase, featuring introductions of the 2014 Allamakee County Dairy and Beef Royalty.
The crowning of the Allamakee County Fair Queen will follow that Showcase event, with an Allamakee County Fair Princess also being selected. All candidates will be part of the Allamakee County Fair Royalty Team assisting with various events throughout the 2014 Allamakee County Fair. The 2014 Allamakee County Fair Queen will advance on to compete for the title of Iowa State Fair Queen in August.
Biographies of each of the five candidates seeking this year’s Allamakee County Fair Queen crown follow:

Emily Hammel -
Emily Hammel, age 16, is the daughter of Charles and Deb Hammel of Dorchester and will be a junior at Waukon High School when classes begin later this fall. She has future plans to attend college, but is yet undecided on her course of study.
Her participation in school activities includes softball, track, basketball and earning a varsity letter in cross country. She has also earned a letter in Choir, where she has competed in both Small Group and Large Group contests, and she participates in band, individual speech contest, and high school drama productions. She is also involved in the Northeast Iowa Food and Fitness Initiative, where she is a cross-age teacher of elementary students.
Emily is also involved in the Little Switzerland FFA chapter at Waukon High School. She is also a member of St. Mary's Catholic Church in Dorchester, where she has participated in the church's bake sale.
Her 4-H involvement has included serving on the Allamakee County 4-H County Council and participating in the 2012-2013 4-H Citizenship Club, as well as being involved as a 4-H volunteer and assisting with 4-H bake sales. Emily has also been involved in the 4-H Food Challenge, and participates in the annual Allamakee County Expressions Day, where she has earned advancement to the Iowa State Fair in 2011 through 2013 in the Working Exhibits competition and also this year in the Clothing Selection competition. Her 4-H projects have also earned her awards such as Overall Achievement for Communications and Honorable Mention in Visual Arts. She has also won Junior Showmanship honors in the poultry show at the 2010 Allamakee County Fair and showed the Reserve Champion Lightweight Gilt at the 2013 Allamakee County Fair.

Carley Mellick -
Carley Mellick is the 17-year-old daughter of Tom and Laura Mellick of Waukon. When the new school year begins this fall she will be a senior at Waukon High School, where she has been named to the Honor Roll.
Upon graduation from high school, Carley has plans to attend a four-year college to pursue a Bachelor of Science degree in Nursing. She would then like to further her nursing education with a focus on obstetrics.
While in high school, Carley has participated in softball, earned a varsity letter in track and field, and also served as a manager for the varsity football team. She has also been an active member of the Little Switzerland FFA Chapter at Waukon High School, participating in a variety of contests and community service projects. Her FFA honors include being awarded Greenhand and Chapter degrees, placing seventh in both Dairy Cattle Judging and the Greenhand Quiz in District competition, and earning a Silver rating in the Chapter Display competition.
Carley has also been an active member of the West Ridge Riders 4-H club since fourth grade, being a Clover Kids member prior to that. In her eight years as a 4-H member, she has served as her club reporter and on the fair booth committee, also serving one year on the 4-H County Council and on the Allamakee County 4-H Citizenship Club for two years. She has received record book completion awards throughout her 4-H career as well.

Carli Quandahl -
Carli Quandahl, daughter of Adam and Julie Quandahl of Waukon, is 18 years old and a 2014 graduate of Waukon High School. She will be attending Northeast Iowa Community College (NICC) in Calmar this fall to major in Agricultural Business, with plans to find a job in northeast Iowa and continue to increase and improve her own beef cattle herd.
Carli has been a member of the West Ridge Riders 4-H Club for the past nine years, serving as Vice President of the club for two years. In addition to receiving 4-H record book completion awards, she has participated in a variety of 4-H activities at both the local and state level, including working the 4-H food stand, participating in the Allamakee County Fair and Conference judging, as well as post-fair clean-up and other community service activities.
As a member of the Little Switzerland FFA chapter at Waukon High School, Carli served as Vice President this past year and as Reporter the year prior. She has also competed in a variety of Career Development Events (CDE) at the local, state and national levels, and has earned such awards as Chapter Proficiency, Chapter Degree and the Craig Levi Mathis Award, in addition to being a member of the District Soils Evaluation Champion Team.
Carli is a member of the Allamakee County Cattlemen's Association, serving as the 2012-2013 Allamakee County Beef Queen. She is also involved in the annual Big Pumpkin Contest, assisting with a variety of activities with that event.

Bethany Stock -
Sixteen-year-old Bethany Stock is the daughter of Kent and Rhonda Stock of Waukon and will be a junior at Waukon High School when classes resume later this fall. Her future plans involve attending college to major in Communications.
Throughout her high school career, Bethany has participated in volleyball, basketball, track and softball, as well as serving on the Waukon High School Student Council. She has achieved inclusion on the Academic Honor Roll and was named to the 2014 Decorah Softball Invitational All-Tournament Team.
Bethany is also involved in the Little Switzerland FFA chapter and Future Business Leaders of America (FBLA) chapter at Waukon High School, having earned a variety of awards through her FFA involvement and currently serving as Historian for the Little Switzerland chapter. She is also involved in the Northeast Iowa Food and Fitness Initiative (FFI), as well as Brenda's School of Dance.
Involvement in the Allamakee County 4-H program for Bethany has included serving as her club's treasurer, and also serving as co-treasurer for the Allamakee County 4-H County Council. She also serves on the 4-H Youth Development Committee and has also achieved numerous 4-H awards so far in her career.

McKayla Stock -
McKayla Stock is 18 years old and the daughter of Kent and Rhonda Stock of Waukon. She is a 2014 graduate of Waukon High School and is currently attending Northeast Iowa Community College (NICC) in Calmar, where she will be enrolled in the school's Nursing program in the fall of this year.
Following completion of the Nursing program at NICC, she intends to transfer to Upper Iowa University in Fayette to pursue a Bachelor of Science degree in Nursing. She currently works as a Certified Nursing Assistant (CNA) at Veterans Memorial Hospital in Waukon and has a goal of continuing her career there as she works toward becoming a Registered Nurse.
McKayla has been involved in volleyball, basketball, track and softball throughout her high school career, in addition to serving as President of the Waukon High School Student Council and participating in Choir and Dollars for Scholars. She is also involved in the Little Switzerland FFA Chapter at Waukon High School, where she has served as Reporter, the Waukon High School Future Business Leaders of America (FBLA) chapter, and the Northeast Iowa Food and Fitness Initiative (FFI), where she has served as a cross-age teacher of younger students.
Her school honors include being selected to the National Honor Society and being named to the Academic Honor Roll for eight consecutive semesters. She has also received Dollars for Scholars awards, in addition to being named to the Dean's List at Northeast Iowa Community College (NICC).
McKayla was named an Allamakee County Fair Princess in 2012 and she is also involved with Brenda's School of Dance. She currently serves as President of her 4-H club, as well as Co-President of the Allamakee 4-H County Council. She also serves as a youth voice for Allamakee County through the 4-H Youth Development Committee and serves on the select Career and Technical Education (CTE) Committee, where she recently committed to serve after high school as an adult liaison to guide students through the variety of choices available in health occupations.