The adage, ‘You can’t judge a book by its cover,’ applies to this year’s Missouri State Fair Queen, Lani Ogle.
Don’t be fooled by the slender blond haired, blue-eyed young lady sporting a jeweled tiara. Lani can just as easily be found in a deer stand with camouflage face paint, sitting on the bank of a pond fishing for catfish or practicing archery.
A senior at Sarcoxie High School, Lani is not your typical pageant queen. Preferring cowboy boots to high heels, her pride and joy is her 4-wheel drive, extended cab Dodge pickup that is decked out with pink camo floor mats, something she earned through hard work and saving her money.
As a fourth-generation farm kid, she is no stranger to the rigors of farm life. Her parents, Russell and Kenda Ogle, own the 160 acres and another 40 nearby, that has served as one of Lani’s ag classrooms, with the other being her grandparents dairy farm near Mt. Vernon, Mo.
Brother, Bryce, 23, lives east of the home place on 30 acres of his own, raising cattle and doing his own thing restoring antique steam tractors.
“My mom is school teacher and when I was little I never went to a babysitter. I spent the day with my dad, which probably wasn’t a good thing,” she said with a grin. “I would help put the bands on when he worked calves or rode along in the truck to spread chicken litter.”
As any proud father would do, Russell scrolls through his new smart phone to find pictures and videos of some of his proudest moments. Moments that are unique only to young ladies raised in the country, such as an 8-point buck last year, a string of fish or getting crowned the 2016 Missouri State Fair Queen.
Mature for her years, she admits that it was the behind the scene efforts of her parents that made her focus on setting goals and working to achieve them while growing up.
“My parents taught me how to be a good kid and have good manners as a good foundation,” Lani said. “But learning to do public speaking really came from my involvement in FFA.”
Since Lani has been in FFA she has held several office positions in the Sarcoxie chapter, as well as, Area 11 FFA President this year.
“She always did good giving presentations,” Kenda adds. “Even when she was little in 4-H, wearing her piggy tails.”
Lani started her own cattle venture during her seventh-grade year, when she officially opened a checking account. Today she has a herd of red Angus cows bred to a Charolais bull, 11 cows and seven first calf heifers. She does raise bottle calves, which she sells to generate income to support her herd and pay rent on 40 acres. She also shows Guernsey cattle, which are a staple of her grandparent’s dairy operation.
“For as long as I can remember, we have had bottle calves around,” she said.
Although she has shown dairy cattle at the fair for years, this is the first year she has tried to compete in a pageant, winning both the Jasper County Fair Queen and the Missouri State Fair Queen honor.
“I was so shocked when they put us back on stage because I had only won the interview portion of the judging, so I figured I was done,” Lani recalled. “I didn’t even pack a bag because I was just there to see what it would be like.”
Only two young ladies have ever been selected as Missouri State Fair Queen from the Southwest Missouri region, the first was from Carthage in 1985 and now Lani.
“When she got in the top 10, I was thinking she might just win this,” mom, Kenda remarked. “She does good at everything she does.”
Russell got so excited he could be heard on the video of the coronation whooping before jumping over the railing to the arena floor 10 feet below. Russell eagerly interjects to share the video of her crowning.
“I watch it all the time,” Russell said with a, as only a proud father can smile. “I didn’t realize what a big deal being State Fair Queen was until she was crowned.”
Lani’s new task as Missouri State Fair Queen will take her to various functions with the number one job of promoting the importance of agriculture and more importantly encouraging the younger generation to look at agriculture as a viable career choice.
Lani has decided she wants to stay focus on veterinary pharmaceuticals as her career choice. She plans to begin her studies at Crowder College and utilize the A-Plus Program, which is available to Missouri students who meet certain criteria and attend a participating community college or vocational/technical school. As fair queen, she receives a $2,000 scholarship, which she will apply to her studies.
Achievements often come with a good dose of blisters, getting dirty and a good hard sweat. For Lani, what is inside the cover is the best part of her impressive resume.
