Beaver Dam woman sings her way to title

By Diane Graff of the Daily Times staff
Thursday, August 16, 2007 12:44 PM CDT

Katie Rhodes of Beaver Dam was crowned the 2007 Dodge County fairest of the fair Wednesday night at the fairgrounds. Rhodes, front row center, was congratulated by, left, State Fairest of the Fair Sheri Nelson and 2006 Dodge County Fairest of the Fair Mary Kate Frank. Other contestants included, back row from left, Erica Soldner, first runner-up Kimberely Schmitt, Amanda Messer, Cayla Harned and Amanda Graff.

BEAVER DAM - Singing her way into to the judges' hearts, 19-year-old Katie Rhodes of Beaver Dam was crowned the 2007 Dodge County fairest of the fair Wednesday night.

Rhodes, the daughter of Jack and Rita Rhodes of Beaver Dam, partially sang and narrated a commercial for the fair, which was part of the requirements of the eight candidates.

“I am really excited to represent Dodge County,” Rhodes said after being crowned by the 2006 Fairest of the Fair Mary Kate Frank. “It is something I thought about as a child,” she added.

Rhodes is currently a student at the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse majoring in biology with a concentration in biomedical science and pre-med. Rhodes is involved in Alpha Phi Sorority and Angell Hall Executive Team.

She received the Dorothy Luckow Award for outstanding achievement in her local Leipsic 4-H Club.

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Rhodes said she was looking forward to participating in the many events at the fair.

In January, she will compete for the title of the state fairest of the fair. The 2007 State Fairest of the Fair Sheri Nelson was present Wednesday night at the Dodge County finals.

Kimberley Schmitt, Lowell, was named the first runner-up in the competition. Schmitt, 19, is the daughter of Christine and Roy Schmitt, and is a sophomore at the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay. In the future, Schmitt hopes to publish a book and work at a publishing company. She has taken part in the study abroad program and intramurals while at UW-Green Bay.

Other contestants included Jessica Blodgett of Mayville, Amanda Graff of Reeseville, Cayla Harned of Fox Lake, Amanda Messer of Beaver Dam, Erica Soldner of Reeseville and Karmen Vick of Beaver Dam.

Judges for the event were Sandra Budewitz, owner of Sandra D's Bridal Boutique Shoppe in Watertown, John Engels, retired rural insurance agent, and Kimberly Schoessow, 2006 Wisconsin fairest of the fairs.

On of Rhodes' first duties as the newly crowned fairest was to introduce the main stage entertainment Joe Nichols.

“What I heard was that it was a great show,” fair Co-Secretary/Treasurer Sharon Keil said this morning. “I heard several people talk about the show and he was a good entertainer,” she added.

Nichols was also very accommodating considering the circumstances on the soggy fairgrounds, Keil said.

A bus had gotten stuck earlier in the day in the infield where normally the entertainment buses are parked. Due to the soggy conditions on the grounds, Nichols agreed to be shuttled back and forth from his transportation to the stage area by the use of a John Deere Gator, Keil said. “He was more than happy to use the Gator,” Keil said. “That is the type of entertainer you like to have,” she added.

And Nichols was a crowd pleaser, despite the muddy infield, Keil said. He performed four encores following his 70-minute performance.

The fairgrounds crew are attempting to dry up the grounds today, Keil said. “We are trying to accommodate with sawdust in certain places and we are trying to keep it covered and we are working at it,” she said. “We hauled a couple of loads of pea gravel onto the grounds, which works better than the shavings.”

Despite a steady drizzle most of the day, everything worked out fine, Keil said. “We had a nice evening and the weather turned around for us.

“We didn't set any records with the crowds, but it was a nice crowd,” Keil said. “Everyone was pleased with the crowd.”

Ticket takers indicated several season tickets were purchased Wednesday, the first day of the fair. “At this point we have no idea of the number of season tickets sold,” she added.

Today's fair continues with the meat animal sale at 7 p.m. and the grandstand entertainment of Josh Turner at 8 p.m.