Faulkner Named 2023 Queen Of Lakes
June 25, 2023 at 7:44 p.m.
Faulkner Named 2023 Queen Of Lakes
By David [email protected]
Jaela Faulkner, 20, Bourbon, daughter of Joel and Justina Faulkner, said, “I’m just so excited and overwhelmed right now. I’m feeling very blessed. I’m just so excited to take on this role.”
This was her second year to participate in the Queen of Lakes pageant, but there were twice as many young women (18) competing this year than last year.
“I competed last year and just having the amount of girls this year has definitely been a huge change, but I was not expecting this at all, but I’m very thankful walking away,” she said.
She competed as Miss Hoffman Lake and her sponsor was Bourbon Lions Club. Additionally, the 17 other contestants voted Faulkner as Miss Congeniality and she took third place in the parade.
The Shoops Sports and Youth Foundation provided scholarships to the winners of the pageant. The queen will receive a $2,000 scholarship; first runner-up, $1,500; second runner-up, $1,000; and third runner-up, $500. The queen and the three runners-up also received a sash, flowers and a crown.
Third runner-up was Bri McBrier. Second runner-up was Chloe Bolinger. First runner-up was Janna Teusch.
Bri McBrier, 22, Rochester, is the daughter of Beth and Brandon McBrier. Competing as Miss Yellow Creek Lake, her sponsor was Splendor Boats.
Chloe Bollinger, 17, South Whitley, is the daughter of Rick and Melissa Bolinger. Competing as Miss Camelot Lake, her sponsor was Pierceton Masonic Lodge #377.
Janna Teusch, 18, Huntington, is the daughter of Kristine and David Teusch. Competing as Miss Sechrist Lake, her sponsor was Jill and Jennifer’s Salon.
The pageant, held annually during the Mermaid Festival in North Webster, started out Saturday with the “Life is better in North Webster” theme wear.
After all 18 women presented their individual theme wear to the three judges, Master of Ceremonies Phil Metcalf explained, “To earn the title, each girl participates in four events related to the contest, including personality, parade, theme wear and evening gown. The interview portion of the event was done this morning, with each girl spending time with the judges in panel-style interviews. This process provides an assessment for the contestants’ ability to communicate.”
Each contestant is required to participate in the Mermaid Festival parade. Thinking outside of the box was encouraged for the parade and theme wear.
The girls participated in another friendly competition for the People’s Choice Theme Wear Award. Each lady had a container along the west side of the gym, with their picture and contestant information. By monetary vote, the audience got to help select the winner of the People’s Choice Theme Wear Award. Each contestant retained half of the money given in support of their theme wear outfit, with the other half used by the North Webster Lions Club to support local projects.
The People’s Choice Theme Wear Award winner was Emily McDonald, 21, of North Webster, the daughter of Jaime Ervin. Collecting $575, she competed as Miss Winona Lake, and her sponsor was Toyota Warsaw Automotive Group.
Following the personality, theme wear, evening gown competitions, the field was narrowed down to four final candidates.
“The final and most challenging step to become the Queen of Lakes, or being a member of the Queen’s Court, is the final question,” Metcalf stated. “Each of the four finalists are asked the same question individually without the knowledge of the other contestants’ answers.”
The question this year was: What is your top priority in life, and why?
Faulkner’s answer was, “Growing up, I was taught the importance of a servant’s heart. With my passion being occupational therapy, I want to give back to small children and help them succeed. I think my passion in life is to help and serve others.”
Metcalf also announced several other awards during the contest, starting with the Community Service Award.
“The North Webster Lions strongly believe in service to the community. While their numbers are small, they are a mighty group. They have exhibited dedication to their community by doing fundraisers, including the Cutie Contest and the Queen of Lake pageant,” he said, before listing a number of projects the Lions provided funds for over the past year.
The Community Service Award was established to honor the contestant with strong dedication to giving of themselves to help others. This year, the award went to Alexis Stump. The daughter of Kerri Hartman and Doug Stump, Syracuse, she is 16. She competed as Miss Little Tippy, and her sponsor was My Red Moon Antiques & Collectibles.
After presenting Miss Congeniality to Faulkner, Metcalf announced the parade winners. Third place received $250, second place $500 and first place received $750. Faulkner took third, Gwendolyn Frank took second and McBrier took first.
Gwendolyn Frank, 16, North Webster, is the daughter of Chris and Rhonda Frank. Competing as Miss Center Lake, her sponsor was Clayton Garden Center.
The 2022 Queen of Lakes, Jordan Hofmann, graduated from Purdue-Fort Wayne in May with a bachelor’s degree in business, majoring in finance. She has started working full-time at Sym Financial Advisers as a security trader. She plans to further her expertise by obtaining her certified financial planner certification to become a CFP.
In her farewell address Saturday, she said, in part, “The Queen of the Lakes pageant has had a bigger impact on my life than I really thought it ever would.”
Not matter what stage of life any of the contestants are in, Hofmann said there’s something “extremely valuable” to take away from the experience. She said the girls are between 15 and 22 years old, and some are competing in a pageant for the first time while some have competed in many.
“So it’s just amazing to see how each girl grows and improves through the participation of this event,” Hofmann said, noting how her own self-esteem and confidence grew immensely.
“The skills I gained from this experience have truly given me an advantage in my career so far,” she said. “I also love meeting so many other ambitious young ladies through the pageant.”
Hofmann talked about the different opportunities she’s had over the past year to represent the Mermaid Festival.
“One really important lesson that holding this title has taught me is that there are people looking up to me every day, whether I’m wearing the crown or not. So, to the next queen I just want to say, you’ll have a position that will give you a lot of fun, but you’ll also have the opportunity to make a big impact. So just take this and enjoy it to the fullest and make the most of it.”
Jaela Faulkner, 20, Bourbon, daughter of Joel and Justina Faulkner, said, “I’m just so excited and overwhelmed right now. I’m feeling very blessed. I’m just so excited to take on this role.”
This was her second year to participate in the Queen of Lakes pageant, but there were twice as many young women (18) competing this year than last year.
“I competed last year and just having the amount of girls this year has definitely been a huge change, but I was not expecting this at all, but I’m very thankful walking away,” she said.
She competed as Miss Hoffman Lake and her sponsor was Bourbon Lions Club. Additionally, the 17 other contestants voted Faulkner as Miss Congeniality and she took third place in the parade.
The Shoops Sports and Youth Foundation provided scholarships to the winners of the pageant. The queen will receive a $2,000 scholarship; first runner-up, $1,500; second runner-up, $1,000; and third runner-up, $500. The queen and the three runners-up also received a sash, flowers and a crown.
Third runner-up was Bri McBrier. Second runner-up was Chloe Bolinger. First runner-up was Janna Teusch.
Bri McBrier, 22, Rochester, is the daughter of Beth and Brandon McBrier. Competing as Miss Yellow Creek Lake, her sponsor was Splendor Boats.
Chloe Bollinger, 17, South Whitley, is the daughter of Rick and Melissa Bolinger. Competing as Miss Camelot Lake, her sponsor was Pierceton Masonic Lodge #377.
Janna Teusch, 18, Huntington, is the daughter of Kristine and David Teusch. Competing as Miss Sechrist Lake, her sponsor was Jill and Jennifer’s Salon.
The pageant, held annually during the Mermaid Festival in North Webster, started out Saturday with the “Life is better in North Webster” theme wear.
After all 18 women presented their individual theme wear to the three judges, Master of Ceremonies Phil Metcalf explained, “To earn the title, each girl participates in four events related to the contest, including personality, parade, theme wear and evening gown. The interview portion of the event was done this morning, with each girl spending time with the judges in panel-style interviews. This process provides an assessment for the contestants’ ability to communicate.”
Each contestant is required to participate in the Mermaid Festival parade. Thinking outside of the box was encouraged for the parade and theme wear.
The girls participated in another friendly competition for the People’s Choice Theme Wear Award. Each lady had a container along the west side of the gym, with their picture and contestant information. By monetary vote, the audience got to help select the winner of the People’s Choice Theme Wear Award. Each contestant retained half of the money given in support of their theme wear outfit, with the other half used by the North Webster Lions Club to support local projects.
The People’s Choice Theme Wear Award winner was Emily McDonald, 21, of North Webster, the daughter of Jaime Ervin. Collecting $575, she competed as Miss Winona Lake, and her sponsor was Toyota Warsaw Automotive Group.
Following the personality, theme wear, evening gown competitions, the field was narrowed down to four final candidates.
“The final and most challenging step to become the Queen of Lakes, or being a member of the Queen’s Court, is the final question,” Metcalf stated. “Each of the four finalists are asked the same question individually without the knowledge of the other contestants’ answers.”
The question this year was: What is your top priority in life, and why?
Faulkner’s answer was, “Growing up, I was taught the importance of a servant’s heart. With my passion being occupational therapy, I want to give back to small children and help them succeed. I think my passion in life is to help and serve others.”
Metcalf also announced several other awards during the contest, starting with the Community Service Award.
“The North Webster Lions strongly believe in service to the community. While their numbers are small, they are a mighty group. They have exhibited dedication to their community by doing fundraisers, including the Cutie Contest and the Queen of Lake pageant,” he said, before listing a number of projects the Lions provided funds for over the past year.
The Community Service Award was established to honor the contestant with strong dedication to giving of themselves to help others. This year, the award went to Alexis Stump. The daughter of Kerri Hartman and Doug Stump, Syracuse, she is 16. She competed as Miss Little Tippy, and her sponsor was My Red Moon Antiques & Collectibles.
After presenting Miss Congeniality to Faulkner, Metcalf announced the parade winners. Third place received $250, second place $500 and first place received $750. Faulkner took third, Gwendolyn Frank took second and McBrier took first.
Gwendolyn Frank, 16, North Webster, is the daughter of Chris and Rhonda Frank. Competing as Miss Center Lake, her sponsor was Clayton Garden Center.
The 2022 Queen of Lakes, Jordan Hofmann, graduated from Purdue-Fort Wayne in May with a bachelor’s degree in business, majoring in finance. She has started working full-time at Sym Financial Advisers as a security trader. She plans to further her expertise by obtaining her certified financial planner certification to become a CFP.
In her farewell address Saturday, she said, in part, “The Queen of the Lakes pageant has had a bigger impact on my life than I really thought it ever would.”
Not matter what stage of life any of the contestants are in, Hofmann said there’s something “extremely valuable” to take away from the experience. She said the girls are between 15 and 22 years old, and some are competing in a pageant for the first time while some have competed in many.
“So it’s just amazing to see how each girl grows and improves through the participation of this event,” Hofmann said, noting how her own self-esteem and confidence grew immensely.
“The skills I gained from this experience have truly given me an advantage in my career so far,” she said. “I also love meeting so many other ambitious young ladies through the pageant.”
Hofmann talked about the different opportunities she’s had over the past year to represent the Mermaid Festival.
“One really important lesson that holding this title has taught me is that there are people looking up to me every day, whether I’m wearing the crown or not. So, to the next queen I just want to say, you’ll have a position that will give you a lot of fun, but you’ll also have the opportunity to make a big impact. So just take this and enjoy it to the fullest and make the most of it.”
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