Butler County Fair 2022: Meet the queen and king, Anna Moeller and Sam Vessel

Jul. 26—The 172nd Butler County Fair commenced on Sundaywith more than 35,000 people in attendance, and two teens are at the center of it all: Anna Moeller and Sam Vessel, this year's fair queen and king.

Moeller, 17, is a student at Talawanda High School , and Vessel, 19, graduated from Summit Country Day School last year and just finished his first year at the University of Cincinnati.

Both Moeller and Vessel are active participants in Butler County's 4-H program. Vessel has been with the organization for 14 years, and Moeller has participated in it for eight years. Moeller is also a three-year member of Butler County's FFA program. Because they participated in these organizations, they both grew up going to the Butler County Fair, but neither ever imagined becoming fair queen and king.

"A couple of years ago, I don't think I would have run for king," Vessel said. "This is my last year in the program, and after everything I've done, I thought this would be a great opportunity because now I can give back and really do a lot in my last year."

This is the first year Moeller could apply to be queen, and she only applied because all her friends were doing it. She admitted that she was surprised she won.

"I'm not a pageantry type of person," Moeller said. "It's not my thing to get dressed up in a pretty dress and walk and talk about myself."

And fair-goers won't see Moeller all dressed up in a pretty dress because, in addition to her responsibilities as queen, she will also be showing horses, goats and turkeys at the fair.

"It's very busy," Moeller said. "I never sit down. I'm always running somewhere."

Although Vessel had never shown animals before, he showed rabbits on Sunday and won Best of Breed.

As part of their responsibilities as queen and king, Vessel and Moeller will welcome royalty visiting from other county fairs, give tours, attend shows, hand out ribbons, greet the public and mentor younger kids interested in getting involved in the fair. Despite the long week, their responsibilities won't end after the fair.

"King and Queen is a huge responsibility, not only at the Butler County Fair but throughout the year," Emily Masters Kahrs, the 4-H educator at the Ohio State University Extension, Butler County, said. "They will leave this fair, visit other county fairs and bring back ideas to the Butler County Fair."

Masters Kahrs said that judges from outside of Butler County review applications for fair queen and king. Then, each of the contestants has a sit-down interview with the judges, and then they are evaluated on their onstage appearance, where they answer questions posed by the judges.

"Sam stood out because he is outstanding in everything that he does," Masters Kahrs said. "He is not only very well accomplished on paper, but he is one of the nicest men you will ever find ... Anna is very well rounded in terms of her knowledge on the fair. She is very active in FFA, she is a very good public speaker and a very sweet lady."

Both Vessel and Moeller contributed their success to their involvement in the 4-H and FFA organizations.

"Through 4-H I've definitely gained a lot of skills with my public speaking," Vessel said. "My ability to communicate with others has definitely grown."

HOW TO GO

What: 172nd Butler County Fair

Where: Butler County Fairgrounds on Fair Avenue in Hamilton

Cost: Tickets are $9 for adults and $4 for children with a paying adult

More: butlercountyohfair.org