Two years ago, Ann Rose walked across the Lions Park pavilion with a crown on her head as she was named Jonesburg Homecoming queen.

On the evening of July 20, the Montgomery City resident walked across the stage at the Montgomery County Fairgrounds’ Family Fun Center with another crown on her head. This time, she was named the 2026 Montgomery County Fair queen.

Rose received her crown from last year’s winner, Lila Uthlaut. She also won awards for top season pass seller, interview and gown. The 17-year-old said she was thrilled to be crowned fair queen just a month before her senior year at Montgomery County High School begins.

“It feels amazing that I get to go out with a bang, go out to be able to show off my community and give back to the community who has given me so much,” Rose said.

Rose was part of a court that included Adrianna Craven, Matti Hager and Sarabeth Trenner. Like Rose, Hager and Trenner also competed at the queen contest for the second straight year.

“We all networked together and built new friendships that will last a lifetime,” Rose said. “I highly recommend anyone to participate in our Montgomery County Fair Queen contest because it makes you make friends that you would have never thought you’d make.”

Trenner, who lives in Rhineland and will be a senior at Hermann High School this fall, was named first runner-up for the second year in a row. She won an award for top speech or talent. She did a dancing performance on Rihanna’s song, “Dancing In The Dark.”

Hager, who will be a senior at Mexico High School this fall, earned the People’s Choice Award for the second straight year. She was named Miss Congeniality last year.

Craven, who will be a junior at Van-Far High School this fall, was selected as this year’s Miss Congeniality.

Before the winner was announced, Rose held hands with Trenner, waiting to hear who will be the 2026 queen.

“They wanted us to hold hands to make it a little bit more memorable, so that’s what we did,” Rose said. “Whenever they announced it, I was like, ‘What?’ It kind of hit me all at once. I was actually able to do it this year. I ran last year, but Lila won it and I was very happy for her, too.”

After being named queen, Rose performed many duties during the fair, such as riding at the parade on July 21 and participating in the junior livestock auction on July 23.

At the auction, Rose took pictures with more than 250 exhibitors in a five-hour event that ended at 11:50 p.m. She also showed her steer.

“I enjoyed my first few days,” Rose said. “I got to meet many new kids. I get to see the bright smiles on each kid’s face, realizing that I finally won queen. They’re excited because they get to meet the queen. So that’s been quite fun. I got to take pictures with all of the livestock exhibitors, so that’s a fun memory to have. I did pretty good with my steer as well.”

In 2024, Rose was crowned Jonesburg Homecoming queen in her first appearance at the contest. She earned a $1,000 college scholarship.

Rose said the win at Jonesburg two years ago gave her motivation to win the Montgomery County Fair queen contest.

“I kind of wanted to do this ever since I was little because I grew up watching the fair queens,” Rose said. “It was something that I wanted to do. I wanted to be on the stage as a fair queen, not just a Jonesburg fair queen. It’s always kind of fun to think that my childhood memories came true slowly.”

Rose sold 217 fair season passes this year, surpassing last year’s mark of 129.

“I posted them on Facebook and I set a goal for myself,” Rose said. “I wanted to beat last year’s record. I did. I passed last year’s record. I was very, very happy about that one.”

Rose made a four-minute speech at the contest that was titled, “A Small Town, A Big Memory,” chronicling her memories of going to the Montgomery County Fair. She said she first started working on it in April.

“I went out onto the Grandstands stage before we figured out that we were moving it (to the Family Fun Center),” Rose said. “I think I went out there five nights and practiced it almost 20 times.”

Rose will return for her fourth year as a member of the Montgomery County FFA group this fall. Next year, she plans to attend State Technical College and major in nursing. Recently, she completed five Harvard Medical School online courses in just four weeks.