2018 Entry Form Somerset County Beef Jackpot Show

Making the connections is what Abigail Knapp has been doing during her reign as the 2020 Somerset County Off-white Queen.

Competing for the fair queen title was a decision she said she made for a lot of different reasons.

"Our subcontract is a small scale meat product operation. The fair'due south job is to bring the consumer and the producer together," she said. "The fair queen's job is to exist the salesperson for the off-white. It's a very important job to me because information technology's a very important office of the farmers' business concern."

She said Somerset County's fair is focused on agriculture.

"It's 1 of the largest livestock exhibit fairs in the country," she said. "Somerset County tin exist very proud. They never lose sight of the true purpose of the fair. It was ane of five that actually happened last yr."

Pandemic changes

She said the pandemic final year may have been noticeable to the visitors with the lack of carnival rides and rodeo night cancellation. But for the exhibitors, it was business as usual.

"The kids work all year for this one week," she said. "Their passion — you see it in the show ring. They are intense. It's amazing."

Off-white royalty

Abigail Knapp is the daughter of Michael and the late Deborah Knapp, Hooversville. She has iii older brothers, Michael, Simon and Adam.

Abby's female parent, the former Debbie Shaffer, was the 1979 Somerset Canton Fair Queen. Abby said she has a lot of regal claret in her with by queens Susan Knapp, Lori Svonavec, Danielle Shaffer, Emily Maurer and Jillian Svonavec all being relatives.

"I accept such a big family," she said. "My dad was of 10 kids and dad'south mom was of 10 kids. When we go to the store, I have to have the cart and go considering dad is ever seeing people he knows and stops to talk."

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She is employed at Knapptime Farm Operation and is a sales manager, which includes producing and marketing pork, beef and lamb products, organizing sales and work team, formulating new sausage recipes, and analogous product schedule.

She graduated in 2020 from Shade-Central Metropolis High School, where she was the National Honour Society president, the varsity rifle team captain in which in she was the 2020 Pennsylvania State High School Smallbore 3-position Rifle Reserve Champion. She was the Form of 2020 vice president, Environthon Social club vice president, educatee quango treasurer, and a fellow member of the Varsity Club and Chess Club.

At present Abby is a sophomore chemical engineering major at the University of Pittsburgh at Johnstown, where she besides is in Reserve Officers Training Corps (ROTC) in which she will graduate equally a 2nd Lieutenant.

"Dad has his doctorate in chemic engineering so I have the background with it," she said. There are a lot of career options for her, and she decided to go into the Regular army for eight years.

"It will teach me a lot of skills and leadership," she said.

4-H work

In iv-H and fair work, Abby is the 2017 Pennsylvania Country four-H .22 activity Smallbore Rifle Champion, and the 2018 Pennsylvania State 4-H representative and competitor in the 4-H National Shooting Sports Championships. She was a state finalist in the Pennsylvania 4-H State Equus caballus Championships for viii years. She participated in the Somerset County Off-white Leadline contest for x years and the Junior livestock show and sale for nine years.

Abby is A Cut Above 4-H Club secretary. She headed and organized the fair booth committee for three years. She was the Somerset County 4-H Canton Council treasurer from 2019-xx. She received the inferior and intermediate outstanding 4-Her awards, completed Level 5 of the 4-H Accomplishment Ladder and competed four-H projects in beef, swine, sheep, equine, cooking, volunteering, burglarize shooting, horseback riding, painting, cooking and gardening.

Her family unit members were all in the iv-H Canton Council. Abby said 4-H is a great learning feel.

"It is a good plan. It's non only agriculture and animals," she said. "There is rocketry, gardening, robotics. There are a lot of options to run across where yous fit in. They can meet other kids and encounter what others are interested in."

She volunteers at Somerset County 4-H Rifle programme, Our Lady Queen of Angels Catholic Church, Berkey Church of the Brethren and Somerset County Mobile Food Banking concern. She competed across the state and earned a slot to compete at the olympic preparation center for the Jerome Sportsman's Inferior Rifle Team. She participated in the Rural Electric Cooperative Youth Bout.

She has shown beef, pigs and sheep at the county fair. Her favorite memories from the fair are the Leadline contest.

"Not simply exercise you model an outfit, but there'southward the group competitions," she said.

For the state championship in four-H riflery, she said it was an feel she throughly enjoyed. They attended the championship in Grand Isle, Nebraska.

"It was a lot of fun. It was cracking to become that far West," she said.

Abby said she'south entered the Nutrient Revue competition every year and once she selects the recipe, she has to make it three or four times before the competition to brand certain information technology works out. Merely and then she has to consume her practice entries.

"I'yard a dessert person," she laughed. "I'd like to know how you get to exist the person to judge these competitions. I went to the maple producers Taste and Bout and got to see i lady making maple syrup into saccharide and she kept having me taste information technology. Information technology was interesting because we used to have a maple camp. When I left I had a bag of maple sugar."

She is planning to do a special programme during this yr'due south fair. "The Purple Perspective on Agriculture" is set for xi a.m. to iii:thirty p.yard. Wednesday in the Inferior Activities Building. Local queens will exist there to discuss what they represent and something in agriculture in which they are involved.

Country Fair Queen Alternating

She is now enjoying traveling to the different fairs equally the 2021 State Fair Queen Alternating. She said the state fair queen competition was different this year because of the pandemic.

"Information technology was virtual this year, just withal nerve-wracking," she said.

They had judging on Zoom that was live-streamed.

"Information technology was hard. We got to meet the other fair queens on Zoom which was harder to practice, only they had different things for united states to practise," she said. "They had guest speakers requite Zoom presentations. There were former state off-white queens and others who competed but didn't win to give a different perspective, make presentations about how this helped them out subsequently in life."

She's been traveling around to the dissimilar fairs and is finally coming together the other girls in person.

"I've been getting asked to travel to other fairs this year," she said. "I'grand enjoying going to the fairs to run into the other queens in person."

Abby is looking forward to the fair queen competition Aug. 22.

"It'south going to be a pretty skilful competition for fair queen," she said. "The girls all carry themselves very well."

Her recommendation to the girls competing this yr, "Bask the moment. Focus on the agriculture side of things. Keep smiling even if your cheeks injure."

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Source: https://www.dailyamerican.com/story/lifestyle/2021/08/20/somerset-county-fair-queen-abigail-knapp-makes-connections/5458177001/

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