HR0796 101ST GENERAL ASSEMBLY

HR0796 LRB101 20945 LAW 70954 r

HOUSE RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois House of Representatives wish to congratulate Miss White County Fair Queen Kelsi Kessler on being named Miss Illinois County Fair Queen; and

WHEREAS, Kelsi Kessler, 18, of Carmi, was crowned the 61st Miss Illinois County Fair Queen while representing White County at the 110th Illinois Association of Agricultural Fairs Convention; and

WHEREAS, The pageant was hosted by the Illinois Association of Agricultural Fairs at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Springfield from January 17 to 19, 2020; in total, this year's convention had more than 3,000 in attendance; and

WHEREAS, In August of last year, 25 years after her mother was honored as White County Fair Queen, Kelsi Kessler was crowned with the same title; 167 days later, Kelsi was crowned Miss Illinois State County Fair Queen; and

WHEREAS, Kelsi Kessler notes that winning the crown and participating in the State pageant was, for her, less about the competition and more about self-growth, getting to know people and developing as a public speaker; although a lot went into preparing for the pageant, she felt it was much like competing on the county level, aside from higher stakes and additional events; and

WHEREAS, Kelsi Kessler currently attends the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, where she majors in accounting; and

WHEREAS, Kelsi Kessler will be a summer employee of the Department of Agriculture; she will also travel to an estimated 30 county fairs and will be the official hostess of the Illinois State Fair in Springfield and the DuQuoin State Fair; and

WHEREAS, As queen, Kelsi Kessler's main duty is to emphasize the importance of agriculture and county fairs to Illinois; she got her start in agriculture with FFA; and

WHEREAS, Kelsi Kessler's father Curt is the plant manager of Champion Laboratories, Inc. in Albion, and her mother Kara is a banker; her grandfather operates a farm in Carmi; and

WHEREAS, Kelsi Kessler has her own video series on YouTube called "Crowned with Confidence," where she encourages young people to have confidence in whatever they attempt; therefore, be it

RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE ONE HUNDRED FIRST GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we congratulate Miss White County Fair Queen Kelsi Kessler on being named Miss Illinois County Fair Queen, and we commend her hard work as a college student and an active role model in our State; and be it further

RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be presented to Kelsi Kessler as an expression of our esteem and respect.