Andrea Schaffnit named 60th Adams County Fair Queen

July 24, 2025 | By By Steve Eighinger

Andrea Schaffnit, 2025 Miss Adams County Fair — Submitted photo

MENDON, Ill. — Andrea Schaffnit knows very well the next 12 months are going to test every bit of her time management skills.

Any sort of relaxation will likely be a luxury since most of her daily duties will be traveling, making guest appearances, giving speeches and serving as a goodwill ambassador for West-Central Illinois as the latest Adams County fair queen.

So-o-o … ? Any trepidation of what lies ahead?

Nada. Nyet. Nope.

“It’s going to be great,” Schaffnit emphasized, breaking into a huge smile that was already filled with anticipation and accented with the overall excitement of what happened only moments earlier.

Schaffnit was named the 60th fair queen on a balmy Wednesday evening that saw a much-needed breeze keep the 1,800 or so onlookers comfortable as they watched the annual pageant unfold in a tight, not-quite two-hour format.

And Schaffnit cannot wait to get started and represent Adams County, not only at the fair in the coming week, but wherever else her title takes her in the coming weeks and months. She feels her background has prepared her for this day.

“I’m an ag girl, I’ve always been an ag girl,” she said. “I’ve grown up at the (Adams County) fair. I realize this is a commitment, but I’m looking forward to representing our community.”

Ironically, this was the first year the 19-year-old Schaffnit competed for queen, even though as a youngster she had watched many of the pageants over the years.

“I had always looked up to the fair queens,” she said. “This is nothing short of amazing.”

Schaffnit is the daughter of Kevin and Nicole Schaffnit of Mendon and is the eighth Mendon girl to be named queen in the pageant’s long history. That is the second-most titles for any county town, trailing only the 29 won by Quincy representatives.

Along with her crown, Schaffnit was presented a $2,000 scholarship and will compete in the 66th Miss Illinois Fair Queen Pageant in January in Springfield at the Crowne Plaza Hotel.

First runner-up was Chloe Shaffer, 18, of Mendon, who was awarded a $500 scholarship. Second runner-up was Charlotte Smith, 18, of Quincy. Third runner-up was Makenna Post, 21, Clayton. Fourth runner-up was Cloe Owens, 18, of Liberty.

This year’s pageant had 15 entries, the first time there has been a double-figure total of participants since 2015 when there were 14. The record remains 26 in 1975.

The contestants took part in pre-pageant interviews with judges, plus evening gown and swimsuit wear during the event itself. All four contestants also answered an at-large question in front of the audience before the judges’ final deliberation.The pre-pageant interview with the judges was worth 35 percent of a contestant’s score, which accounted for the largest chunk of the competition. The remainder of a contestant’s score came from a short speech (30 percent), swimsuit competition (20 percent) and evening gowns/overall appearance/on-stage grace (15 percent).

This year’s pageant field included seven entrants from Quincy, five from Fowler, two from Mendon and one from Clayton.

Miss Congeniality was Elaine Schreacke, 20, of Quincy; Shaffer earned the Don Russell Memorial Interview Award; Schaffnit the top speech award; Anna Dietrich, 17, was the non-finalist swimsuit award winner; and Allison Worley, 20, the the non-finalist evening gown award winner.

Outgoing queen Madalyn Gibbs of Liberty said, “If I could hold on to (my time as queen) forever, I would. I had always wanted to hold this title since I was young.”

Gibbs called her reign “the year of a lifetime.”

“I’ve never felt loved by so many people as I have over the past year,” she said.

Counting Gibbs, there were 26 past fair queens acknowledged during the pageant.

The Little Miss and Mister Pageant opened the evening. Ava Kay Brinkman, 5, of Plainville and the daughter of Austin and Krissy Brinkman was named Little Miss. Marcus Buck, 7, of Quincy and the son of Johnathan and Sarah Buck was selected Little Mister. There were 19 contestants in that competition.

The Sweetheart of Adams County event for those with intellectual and/or physical disabilities, ages 3 to 99, saw about a dozen individuals walk the runway and be acknowledged by the crowd.

Chad Douglas served a pageant emcee and Melissa Shriver-Hackemack, who has filled a number of roles for the pageant over the years, was acknowledged with a special award for her devotion to the event.

The Adams County Fair runs through July 29 at the Adams County Fairgrounds near Mendon with hot “Figure 8” racing action tonight. For more information, visit www.adamsfair.org.

ADAMS COUNTY FAIR QUEENS BY TOWN

Quincy, 29
Mendon, 8
Camp Point, 6
Liberty, 4
Clayton, 2
Payson, 2
Fowler, 2
Paloma, 2
Ursa, 1
Coatsburg, 1
Plainville, 1

(Others, from outside Adams County, 2)

MOST RECENT ADAMS COUNTY FAIR QUEENS