Kathleen Cripe

This was actually my second try in the Elkhart County 4-H Fair Senior Queen Pageant (laughs). I was in the contest last year. I had so much fun, I thought, ‘I want to try it again.’ My sponsor was the 4H Poultry Club.

When it was announced I was senior queen, the first feeling I had was shock that it was me they chose. And the second was elation because I wanted to be an ambassador for the Elkhart County 4H Fair for the next year. It gives me a lot of joy to think that I can go out there and promote 4H and also the seniors of Elkhart County.

I have been in the Elkhart County Fair almost all my life. I’ve been a 4H’er all my life, almost. My dad, my mom, my siblings, all our kids, and now our grandkids are starting in 4H.

I’m a registered nurse at Goshen Health. I have done that for 45 years. This is my anniversary month. I enjoy the atmosphere there. As colleagues, we help each other. Hierarchy? There isn’t any at Goshen Health. We’re all colleagues, and we work together for the good of our clients and our patients.

Goshen has always been a good place to be. The environment of not only Goshen Health, but the surrounding people who support Goshen Health and those in the Goshen community – we all work together for the common good of everyone. As I went down the fair parade route, it was wonderful to see the diversity of the community and how much we can all work together for one common good.