The Wood County Fair kicked off on Sunday with the annual youth parade and the announcement of the 2024 fair king and queen.

Logan Benedict and Madelayne Lee were announced as fair royalty and both said the announcement was a surprise but that they are excited to begin their upcoming responsibilities.

Benedict is homeschooled, but said he is very involved with the community. He does a variety of volunteer work for his church, such as conducting surveys and helping with Sunday school.

Despite his community involvement, Benedict said he thought being homeschooled would hurt his chances of being fair king.

“I was, ever since I was little, I was always told that … oh he shouldn’t be homeschooled it’s going to hurt his social life and that has never been a factor,” Benedict said.

Being homeschooled can be scary for some kids, and Benedict said he hopes being king will let him show kids that they don’t need to fear being homeschooled and that they should always believe in themselves.

“Never underestimate yourself,” Benedict said. “I went in, I didn’t think I did the greatest interview, but never underestimate yourself just give thanks to God, that’s two things I can say.”

Benedict is a 10-year member of Tontogany 4 Leaf Clovers, which he was representing and has served as president for more than two years. He is seven-year member of Wood County Top Shots. The son of Jason and Peggy Bendict, he attends Liberty University Online Academy. After graduating, he plans to attend drone flight school at BGSU and continue as a fifth-generation farmer.

Benedict did a project in shotgun and will also be showing lambs during the fair.

Like Benedict, Lee said the announcement was a surprise but thinks her positive attitude helped her to become fair queen.

“I think I just always have an optimistic attitude about me,” Lee said. “My personality factor and I put in a lot of effort to have the knowledge that I can have and I’m going to continue to try and grow in that, I thought that’s super important.”

Unlike many 4-H kids, Lee does miscellaneous projects instead of focusing on one or two specific things. By becoming fair queen, she said she hopes she will have the opportunity to share with people that they don’t have to show livestock or be focused on one type of project to be involved with 4-H.

“The miscellaneous world is incredible and just making sure that kids have the accessibility to anything in 4-H, that’s a great thing as well,” Lee said.

Lee was representing the Junior Fair Board, where she is serving as secretary. She is also part of Elmwood High School’s student council, Fellowship of Christian Athletes, Spanish and science clubs, FFA, varsity volleyball, basketball, track and field. She is the daughter of Ryan and Cora Lee.

This year, Lee did a project on leadership which she said she received first place in.

The royal court also included first runners-up Addison Naus and Jimmy Russell, second runners-up Summer Lehsten and Carter Lampe, and third runners-up Emma Ruffner and Henry Strow.

From left, the 2024 Wood County Fai Royalty Court included second runners-up Summer Lehsten and Carter Lampe, first runners-up Addison Naus and Jimmy Russell, queen and king Madelayne Lee and Logan Benedict, and third runners-up Emma Ruffner and Henry Strow.

The youth parade had a total of 45 floats as well as five high school bands.

Before the parade, the American Legions of Wood County held a post everlasting ceremony to honor Wood County veterans that have passed away throughout the year. This is something that is done during the fair every year and community members are always invited.

Denny Knitz, of the American Legion Post 240 in Lucky, said this ceremony is important for helping people remember veterans who have passed. He said seeing people in the crowd, even if they don’t know anything about the ceremony, is heartwarming for current veterans and the families of those who have passed.

“Makes me feel good that some people come out,” Knitz said. “People don’t even know what it is, but it’s nice to see people who do come out and remember this.”

After the post everlasting, a ceremony was also held to honor Wood County firefighters who have served for 20 or more years. Mike Vajen, president of the Wood County Firefighters Association, said firefighters don’t get recognized very often so this ceremony is a chance for the community to come out and give some recognition to those who have put in thousands of hours serving their communities.

“I think it’s important to let the public know what these guys do, the amount of hours that they have put it, not to mention the number of years,” Vajen said. “We don’t get recognized very often, and this is just something that, it’s something very little it’s a piece of paper, but it means a lot to everybody.”