St. Charles Woman Wins County Fair Pageant

Casey Willbrand, 20, grew up participating in 4-H and attended the St. Charles County Fair nearly every year.

But she never pictured herself entering the St. Charles County Fair Pageant. In her second year of competing in the pageant, Willbrand walked away with the title of queen.

"Once I was too old to be in 4-H, it was something I could do to help out," she said. "I decided to give it a try."

Willbrand is the daughter of Jeff Willbrand and Barb Pugh and was sponsored by . She attends Missouri State University where she majors in elementary education. At school, she's involved in Xi Omicron Lota Sorority. She enjoys playing softball.

Willbrand performed a "dancing through the decades" routine for her talent and won first runner-up in that part of the contest.

She said she was on the high school dance squad, but other than that doesn't have a lot of dancing experience.

Willbrand will spend the next several days at the fair handing out ribbons to winners, posing for photos with babies and doing anything the fair board asks of her, she said. 

Next August, she'll compete in the state fair pageant.

Meet the other winners:

1st Runner Up: Leah Katherine Stotts, 18, of Wentzville, is the daughter of Brent and Kathy Stotts. She graduated from Timberland High School this year and will head to University of Missouri for nursing in the fall. Her hobbies include horseback riding, 4-H and cheerleading. She was sponsored by Daniel Wilmes at Wentzville Family Dentistry.

2nd Runner Up: Stephanie Marie Behlmann, 17, is the daughter of Roger and Chris Behlmann of St. Paul. Behlmann was sponsored by Behlmann Carnection. She plays tennis and likes to ride horses.