DECATUR -- Three days after winning the Miss Decatur Barbecue contest, Desi Meek, a senior at Decatur High School, was back on stage Aug. 7 competing in the Junior Queen division of the Miss Benton County Fair pageant.
The pageant, which took place in the auditorium at the Benton County Fairgrounds in Bentonville, saw 60 area girls, ages 13-16 in the junior division and 17-19 in the queen division, vying for the 2018 crown and a chance to compete in the Arkansas State Fair pageant in Little Rock Oct. 11.
Meek, the 16-year-old daughter of Tammy and Leonard Meek, was the first Decatur High School girl to win the Barbecue title since Kelsey McClain won it 15 years ago, in 2003.
Once Meek won the Miss Decatur Barbecue title, she had the option of competing in the Benton County contest. The Decatur Chamber of Commerce sponsored her in this year's fair event.
While Meek did well during the event, she was unable to place. But the experience she gained and the chance to compete in a major pageant will aid future Decatur Barbecue entrants to become better competitors.
In between contests, Meek, a member of the Decatur Future Farmers of America chapter, worked diligently preparing her market hog for the junior livestock auction Aug. 11 in the livestock barn of the Benton County Fair. Her hog netted her around $1,000 and she gets to keep her animal.
But it was not necessarily all work for Desi Meek. In between the pageant and the show, she took full advantage of the many carnival rides with her friends Tabby Tilley, Paige Vann and a few others. She will be back next year to crown the 2019 Miss Decatur Barbecue should the chamber decide to continue the pageant.
General News on 08/15/2018