Can you handle this?

Getting into the official regalia often takes the help of others, as shown here with outgoing Yam queen, Lindsey Cooper. But that was the least of the challenges for Lindsey, who has set the bar high for her successor. Determined to make the Yambilee festival integral to the Yam industry in a way it had not been in recent years, she attended Yam commission meetings, agricultural board meetings, and statewide industry events. To her, that defines being a good queen more than all the trips to other fairs. “It’s not about getting to Our Lady of the Charm Bracelet Festival," she jokes pointedly. "It’s about honoring your industry and making a difference.”