Widmer to compete in Illinois County Fair Queen pageant this weekend in Springfield

ADAMS COUNTY, Ill. — Miss Adams County Fair Queen Morgan Widmer will compete in the Miss Illinois County Fair Queen Pageant in Springfield this weekend against 73 other county fair queens vying for the title of Miss Illinois County Fair.

Widmer, a 2022 graduate of Quincy High School, is the 19-year-old daughter of Trudy and Mike Willis of Quincy. She is the 58th Adams County Fair Queen since the pageant began in 1965.   

In a press release, Widmer said, “I’m very excited to participate in the state pageant. I have been working very hard to represent Adams County, and I’m looking forward to see all of the other county fair queens again in Springfield.”

Widmer is a sophomore elementary education student at Quincy University and a member of the QU dance team. She also represents the Adams County Fair at many community events as well as mentors other young women and girls across the county. When she isn’t representing Adams County at local events, Widmer works at Wink’s Drinks and Trudy’s Trendy Boutique.

The Illinois County Fair Queen Pageant will be held Saturday and Sunday at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Springfield. Widmer will arrive Wednesday. She and the 72 other candidates will participate in long days of rehearsals and interviews before preliminary competition begins on the stage at Springfield’s Crowne Plaza Hotel at 7 p.m. Saturday.

Widmer believes everyone in Adams County will be rooting for her from home this weekend.

“I am very appreciative of all of their support,” she said. “I will do my best to make Adams County proud.  I will compete to the best of my ability, but no matter what, I know I have the support of those back home.”

This year’s Adams County Fair will be held Wednesday, July 24, through Tuesday, July 30.  

Also participating at the state pageant will be:

• Tessa Sargeant from Bushnell, Miss Hancock County Fair
• Klare Flynn from Mount Sterling, Miss Brown County Fair
• Matti McCartney from Pittsfield, Miss Pike County Fair

The Peoples’ Choice voting platform is open. You can vote as many times as you would like. Each vote costs $1. To cast a vote, fill out the entry form at the bottom of the page. You will need to know the county/fair your contestant is representing. That information can be found, along with their photo, in the gallery. Contestants are listed in alphabetical order of the county/fair they represent.

​Voting is open until midnight Saturday, Jan. 13.