XENIA — Gracie Heider thought she whiffed at her opportunity to become the 2024 Greene County Fair queen on Sunday.

Standing in front of a large crowd of family and friends in the Assembly Building, her hands were shaking as she read from some notes recapping her time in 4-H.

“I love their support, but almost seeing all their faces is like, ‘Oh, gosh. OK.’ ” Heider said. “I was very nervous. I thought I totally blew it to be honest.”

She thought wrong.

Heider, a member of Husky Hustlers 4-H, was named 2024 fair queen despite her perceived “shaky” performance.

“I was very surprised,” she said, still misty eyed after getting hugs and posing for myriad photos.

Ironically, those same folks who made her nervous were a big reason Heider was even standing there. After an unsuccessful bid to become fair princess in 2022, Heider wasn’t sure there would be a next time.

“They’re the reason I was able to do this,” she said. “It kind of took me a lot to come back and run. (But) I’ve always looked up to other queens. I was excited to kind of just try something new with it coming to my last years of 4-H. I really wanted to be a bigger impact in this county.”

Heider, in her ninth year as a junior fair exhibitor and president of her 4-H and FFA clubs, also ran to give the younger kids a little motivation.

“I just really wanted to be a more bigger role model and show them they can do this and just be more involved and kind of be able to share more of Greene County to other counties,” she said. “I love walking through the barns and having little kids know my name.”

Karissa Allen, 19, a member of Husky Hustlers 4-H club, was the queen runner-up.

“She did do an amazing job,” Heider said of Allen. “I work with her a lot. She’s an amazing woman.”

Kendal Bertelson, 14, a member of Kreative Kids 4-H club, was named fair princess.

Reach Scott Halasz at 937-502-4507.