MENDOTA – Preparations are in full swing for this year’s Sweet Corn Festival Queen Pageant. Twelve contestants will grace the stage when the pageant takes place at 7:30 p.m. Friday, Aug. 13 on the First State stage on U.S. 34 in downtown Mendota.

Here are two more contestants in the 2021 pageant.

Perris Stachlewitz will be representing the Rotary Club of Mendota in this year’s pageant. She is the daughter of Rusty and Jenny Stachlewitz of Mendota. She is five feet, 10 inches tall, and has green eyes and brown hair.

Stachlewitz graduated from Mendota High School in 2021. She was very active all four years in band, interact club, and student council serving as president of all three her senior year. In her time at MHS, she was also a member of the tennis and basketball teams, boys’ tennis manager, tech team member, and drama club. She could also be found in the Madrigal dinner as a jester as well as the MHS choir, treble choir, jazz choir, and jazz band. In addition, she received a variety of awards her senior year including the SAR award and was the student council vice president.  She also qualified as a BNC all-conference scholar-athlete, had four IHSA second division ratings, and three IHSA first division ratings.

This summer you will find her working at Quilting in the Valley where she helps with retail sales, office tasks, and shipping merchandise. She can also be found preparing for school and she spent time in Wisconsin in June to help open a new store. Her hobbies consist of sewing, kayaking, performing arts, hiking, and swimming.

Stachlewitz has been taking classes at IVCC since July of 2019 and is still actively seeking a degree in Natural Resources with specializations in Biology, Environmental Science, and Conservation.  In the future she plans to travel, work as a conservation biologist, and own many animals.

She shares that her major interest in life is wildlife conservation. She is also proud of the coat and sock drive she established in town that helps supply local organizations.

Amanda Simpson is the choice of the Mendota Fire Department for this year’s pageant.  She is the daughter of Karie Simpson and Randy and Amanda Simpson.

A 2021 graduate of Ottawa High School, she was a member of the track and field and cross-country teams. She also competed in wrestling and was a member of FFA.

Simpson will be attending Illinois Valley Community College in the fall, seeking a degree in general education and will be on the wrestling team.

This summer you will find her working at Dunkin Donuts making coffee, cleaning, taking orders, and a variety of management tasks. She also plans to volunteer time at the PADS shelter and get ready for school.

Simpson’s hobbies include wrestling and weightlifting. She also has particular interests in history and agriculture.

Her plans for the future are to fulfill her general education requirements at IVCC and proceed to becoming certified as a personal trainer. Further, she hopes to advance her education post-IVCC and achieve a degree in sports physical training.