Three candidates in this year’s Sweet Corn Festival Queen Pageant, left to right, are Brittany Menzel, Madelyn Jones and Gabrielle Peasley. (Photo courtesy of Setchell Studio)

MENDOTA – Selecting the Queen to reign over the festivities of Mendota’s 71st Annual Sweet Corn Festival will not be an easy task. There are 16 beautiful young ladies to choose from. The girls have been selected by Mendota not-for-profit organizations to represent them in this year’s pageant.

The pageant will be held Friday, Aug. 10 at 7:30 p.m. on the First State stage on U.S. 34 in downtown Mendota.

Preparations for the event are underway, as the candidates have recently had their publicity photos taken by Setchell Studio of Mendota. Pageant co-chairpersons Michelle Barkman and former Sweet Corn Festival Queens, Rachel Buchanan (2010) and Alison Wasmer (2000), will be working closely with the candidates in preparation for the big night.  Each of the Sweet Corn Queen hopefuls will be very busy during the next few weeks, rehearsing stage presence and getting ready for their interviews with the judges.

Now let’s introduce the first three candidates vying for 2018 Sweet Corn Festival Queen.

The Mendota Elks Lodge #1212 has selected Brittany Menzel as its queen candidate. She is the daughter of Tom and Kim Menzel of Compton. She has green eyes and blonde hair, and stands 5-4.

Menzel is a May 2018 graduate of Mendota High School where she was an Honor Roll student and a member of the National Honor Society. She was also a member of the basketball and softball teams. In addition, she served on the Student Council and was Class Secretary, and was also selected to the 77^th Session of the American Legion Auxiliary Illini Girls State.

She is a member of the Immanuel Lutheran Church of Compton and a member of the Lutheran Youth Organization. As a part of LYO, she attended Mission Trip 2015 to Detroit and the Houston Mission Trip in 2018. She also took part in LYO’s road side clean-up program and was a volunteer at their pancake breakfast.

Menzel plans on attending Illinois Valley Community College in the fall where she will be joining Phi Theta Kapa. She will be beginning work toward a degree in Environmental Science, specializing in cleaning the environment.

This summer you can find her at O’Connell’s Jellystone Park, working in the Recreation Center, and helping out at the waterslides, boats and golf. She will also be spending time with her family and friends, as well as attending a mission trip to Houston.

Menzel likes to draw, paint, hike, boat, swim, and spend time with her dog. She also enjoys eating mac & cheese and watching “Supernatural.” Her major interest is the environment, as in preserving the Earth’s natural resources.

Her plans for the future include majoring in Environmental Science and becoming a Land Reclamation Specialist. She would like to move out West and become a dog mom.

Menzel was a member of the Mendota High School softball team that won the regional for the first time in MHS history, and she is very proud of being a part of that team accomplishment.

Gabrielle Peasley will be representing the Mendota Business & Professional Women’s Club in this year’s queen pageant. She is the daughter of Mark and Gayle Peasley of Mendota. She stands 5-5, and has brown eyes and blonde hair.

She graduated from Mendota Township High School this Spring, where she was a member of the National Honor Society and the Spanish National Honor Society. She was also selected as an Illinois State Scholar. She participated in track, was a member of the cheerleading squad, and Academic Challenge. She was also a member of Spanish Club, as well as a worker in the principal and business offices.

Peasley is an active member of St. John’s Lutheran Church and was a St. John’s Mission Trip volunteer. She was also a Sweet Corn Festival Volunteer.

In the fall, she plans to attend Illinois State University and seek a degree in Biology, specializing in Pre-Medicine.

This summer you will find Peasley working a Sullivan’s Foods, bagging groceries and helping customers. She will also be babysitting and spending time with her family and friends.

Peasley enjoys working out, walking her dog and going on hikes. Her major interest includes the sciences, learning new things and traveling.

Her future plans include majoring in Biology to obtain her Bachelor of Science degree then continuing onto medical school and eventually becoming an emergency room physician.

The Mendota Masonic Lodge #176 has chosen Madelyn Jones to represent it in this year’s queen pageant.  She is the daughter of Matt and Traci Jones of Mendota. Standing 5-4, Madelyn has brown hair and blue eyes.

A May graduate of Mendota High School, Jones was a member of the MHS volleyball and bowling teams for two years. She was also a member of the Spanish Club all four years and received first place in the Spanish Cultural Art Contest. While at MHS, she took honors English and math for four years and honors science for three years. She took part in the Pulley Program and was an office worker for three years during her time at MHS.

Jones plans on attending Illinois State University in the fall, seeking a master’s degree in Communication Sciences and Disorders.

This summer you will find her working at First State Bank as a part-time teller. She will also be babysitting and vacationing in Georgia.

In her free time, she enjoys spending time with family and friends, traveling, tanning, and playing with her dog. She especially enjoys hiking and volunteering at Blackstone School.

Her plans for the future include becoming a Speech Pathologist and working in a hospital setting.

Jones volunteered with set-up and tear-down of the Sweet Corn Festival during middle school and is excited about taking part in this year’s Sweet Corn Festival Queen Pageant.