Fairest of them all: GC graduate Kaitlin Konder named 2017 St. Croix County Fairest of the Fair

By Cara L. Dempski

GLENWOOD CITY — Competitors of any stripe will tell you the end goal is the win.

For those who wind up in second place, there is the thought that there is always another chance.

Or, as a quote from the movie “Cinderella Story,” puts it: “Never let the fear of striking out, keep you from playing the game.”

The movie is one of the newest Fairest of the Fair, Kaitlin Konder’s, favorites, and is an excellent parallel for her own journey to the crown.

Konder was awarded the honor of being 2018 St. Croix County Fairest of the Fair July 20 after running for the 2017 crown and falling to Annamari Haffner.

“After not receiving Fairest last year, my parents thought I would never run again. When I started asking them for advice whether I should run again, they told me to do whatever I thought was right and to not worry about how others would respond,” Konder said.

The 2015 graduate of Glenwood City High School decided to run again this year because she has always wanted to represent the county as Fairest of the Fair.

Konder explained she has watched the St. Croix County Fairest of the Fair each year since she was a child, but the goal of becoming Fairest became more realistic when she became Glenwood City’s First Princess.

While she says it took a lot of courage to run a second time, Konder said she knew if she did not, she might regret it. It was a pleasant surprise when Haffner placed the crown on her head at the coronation.

“My first thought was ‘Thank you God for having all this work pay off!,’” she explained.

The newly-crowned Fairest describes the position as being more than just a title, and explained the Fairest represents the poise that St. Croix County exhibits. Konder said she lived for fair every year, and now that her years of showing are over, she is looking forward to helping future generations find the same experiences and opportunities she had.

The Fairest of the Fair is, at heart, a public relations position for the fair; the Fairest is also an ambassador for the agriculture and fair industries. Konder will attend local town celebrations, meet with fair supporters and business owners around the county, and run for the Wisconsin Fairest of the Fairs in January 2018.

“When I was growing up, the county fair was practically in my back yard,” Konder said. “When my mom would drive through town I would bother her with questions about when the rides were going to arrive for fair.”

The former Hilltopper has been involved with the St. Croix County Fair for as long as she can remember, since her two older sisters showed at the fair before Konder was old enough to join 4-H. She was a member of the Bellringers 4-H club for 12 years, was involved in showing dairy cows at county fair, and served as a member of the county’s dairy judging team.

Konder got involved with the fair at an early age when she started volunteering at different county events. She has worked at May Fair to assist in raising money for improvements to the grounds, and has given tours or assisted people onto and off of hay wagons at Farm City Day.

When asked what her goals are for her position, Konder did not shy away from saying she wants to make more personal, face-to-face connections with people.

“Over the past few years, technology has played a large role in promoting the fair,” she explained. “Although social media is a great way to spread the word, I want to bring back the personal connections the Fairest makes with fairgoers to make people want to come to our fair.”

She is looking forward to meeting different county residents at events throughout the year, and plans to promote the fair to the best of her ability. She also wants the people living in St. Croix County to feel comfortable contacting her regarding getting involved with the fair or joining a 4-H club.

Konder said her family was happy for her, including her older sister Kirsten, who was a previous Fairest of the Fair for the county. She indicated her grandparents, parents, sisters, aunts, uncles, cousins, and friends are all looking forward to seeing her at events in the coming year.

She is a junior at UW-River Falls, where she is majoring in Agribusiness. Konder initially was part of the pre-vet program to become a large animal veterinarian, but she changed her major her sophomore year after being a state FFA officer and realizing she wanted to work with people.

“I chose Agribusiness as my new major because I still get to work with farmers, but from a different angle,” Konder explained. “My career goal with my Agribusiness degree is to become an Ag loan officer at a local financial agency to help all of our local farmers grow and success.”

Konder is the youngest daughter of Kraig and Maureen Konder; her two older sisters are Kirsten (the eldest) and Kelsy (the middle). She plans to graduate from UW-River Falls in December 2019, and then hopes to find a job, get married, and start a family.