Local woman bears the crown

Sep. 24—SHARPSVILLE — Known locally for her involvement in the agricultural community and her family's syrup business, Haleigh Coryea is receiving attention statewide and nationwide as a Miss Agriculture USA Queen.

A lifelong Sharpsville resident and 2016 graduate of Sharpsville Area School District, Coryea found out this summer that she had been named 2024 Pennsylvania Ms Agriculture USA.

Haleigh will be competing at the National Miss Agriculture USA competition in June.

"I've always enjoyed going to agricultural events to be a part of them. I've never thought about being a face for them," Coryea said.

Being named 2024 Pennsylvania Ms Agriculture USA isn't Coryea's first experience with royalty, as she had previously been the Northwest Maple Queen and the State Maple Sweetheart.

However, she was initially hesitant about participating in the Miss Agriculture USA Queen competition due to her busy schedule working full-time and coordinating events.

But when Coryea met a few previous contestants during the Pennsylvania Farm Show in Harrisburg this past January and found out the only main event was the national competition next June in Mantua, Ohio — only an hour from home — she decided to apply.

"When I was talking to the other girls and they said 'you can do as much or as little as you want,' and it wasn't 'do this, this, this, and this,' I thought I could work it into my schedule," Coryea said.

Coryea's category, "Ms Agriculture," includes contestants aged 21 to 30, with about 36 other girls from across the country competing against her.

The national competition will involve different categories such as an agricultural-based questioning period onstage and an agricultural clothing category, where the contestant must make a costume out of the agricultural aspects of their state.

In Pennsylvania's case, the top five aspects are butter, sour cream, mushrooms, Christmas trees and maple syrup, Coryea said.

"It could be as simple as going out there in your work clothes and holding up some equipment," Coryea said.

So far this year, Coryea has enjoyed visiting fairs and participating in some parades, and she looks forward to the state farm show next January, where many of the contestants will meet.

Her agricultural interests include teaching the importance of agriculture to youth, gardening, food preservation, and pure maple syrup production.

Coryea is particularly familiar with the last of those through her work at the family's business, Coryea's Maple Products — a business she learned from her father and grandfather.

"There's a lot of prep work before the season even starts, like checking if we lost any maple trees or changing lines," Coryea said.

For any other girls who haven't applied for the Miss Agriculture competition before or may be hesitant to apply, Coryea recommended, "just do it."

"It's so easy to fit it into your schedule," she said.

The community has a chance to support Coryea in her bid for the national competition, since she needs about $300 from local sponsors to fully qualify — whether that's one large sponsor, or 30 people sponsoring 10 dollars each.

Coryea can be reached by email at hmcoryea@gmail.com.

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