A smiling face from Calumet county may be greeting you this summer at your local county fair as well as the Wisconsin State Fair!
Wednesday evening, as the Wisconsin Fair Association’s annual convention in Wisconsin Dells, Gloria Kesler representing Calumet County’s Fair, was named the 2016 Fairest of the Fairs. Kesler grew up showing beef cattle on her families small operation in Calumet County. Today she is a student at UW- Platteville where she’s pursuing coursework in agriculture education and photo journalism. She’s also dedicated to being an advocate for agriculture which she thinks will fit well with her new duties.
Kesler said she found motivation and inspiration from her family. Her sister, Annie, who was a previous Calumet County Fairest of the Fair. She also found inspiration from her grandmother who instilled a sense of giving back throughout her life.
Kesler says she’s hoping to bring a little humor to her duties as Fairest. She believes that humor is a good way to connect with anyone that she might meet. As far as memorable moments in her fair experiences – Kesler points to a chance at singing the national anthem during the Calumet County Fair one year. Although she didn’t feel completely prepared for the experience – she was proud of the fact that she did it in front of so many people.
Kesler was also selected as Miss Congeniality from a strong field of candidates. Runners up for Fairest of the Fairs included representatives from the Lodi Agricultural Fair; Walworth Fair and Racine County Fair.
You can follow Kesler and all the Wisconsin Fairest of the Fairs activities on Facebook – just look for Wisconsin Fairest of the Fairs.