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NEWS RELEASE
January 18, 2012
For further information, contact:
Rick Osborn, Public Information Officer, Benton County Board of Commissioners
(541) 766-6082, rick.osborn@co.benton.or.us
Philomath resident named Fair and Rodeo Queen
CORVALLIS, Ore. – A seventh-generation Benton County resident will be named this year’s Fair and Rodeo Queen at the inauguration event on Jan. 21.
Dawn Marie Oakes, 22, of Philomath, is a Philomath High School graduate and currently is a sophomore at Western Oregon University. She is studying pre-med with plans to attend Oregon Health and Science University in Portland before returning to the Willamette Valley to practice medicine.
The Benton County Fair and Rodeo Queen Coronation event is scheduled on Saturday, Jan. 21, in the Benton County Fairgrounds Auditorium. The event will feature dinner, as well as silent, oral and dessert auctions, live music by the Randy Nicholson Band and door prizes. Tickets are available for $10 in advance and $13 at the door. Doors open at 5:30 p.m. for the event, and dinner will be served at 6:30. To order tickets, those interested can contact Kristi Schrock by e-mail at jkschrock@peaksky.com.
So far, Oakes has been highly successful and active in the community. She made honor role from 2006 through 2010, was part of National Honor Society in high school and won a county medal for public speaking. She also has earned a county medal for her work with horses. Oakes is a past 4-H and high school equestrian team champion and currently is a 4-H horse leader.
Oakes participated in the YMCA camp “U Can Do” – a residential camp for children with cancer – last summer, mentoring youth in the equestrian program, and plans to do that again this summer. She has been involved in the fair over the years riding barrels, pushing cows, performing in drill and running flags and is looking forward to serving as queen.
“I attended my first Benton County Fair and Rodeo when I was 6 months old and have never missed one since,” she said. “The Benton County Fair and Rodeo has been a huge part of my life. It has helped me make awesome friends and allowed me to be part of the most amazing extended family. The sense of community it helps our county have is one of the things that makes Benton County a special place to live.”
As the Fair and Rodeo Queen, Oakes will be promoting and participating in the event. She also will represent Benton County as a goodwill ambassador in several fairs, rodeos and parades throughout the state of Oregon over the next year as the Benton County Fair and Rodeo Queen. Those include the Super Bulls, Broncs and Barrels Rough Stock Rodeo, Spring Stampede Rough Stock Rodeo, Benton County Fair and Rodeo, Thanksgiving Thunder Rodeo and Christmas Parade in Corvallis; the Philomath Frolic Rodeo and Parade; the Monroe Christmas Parade; the Harrisburg Parade; the Veteran’s Day Parade in Albany; the Strawberry Festival parade in Lebanon; the Pioneer Days Parade in Brownsville; the Sweet Home Rodeo; the Lincoln County Fair and Rodeo in Newport; and the Eugene Pro Rodeo.
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