Girl enjoys victory three times over at fair-exhibit contest
Quality time with the family resulted in prize-winning Columbia County Fair exhibits for one Appling teen.
Tori Knox, 13, entered eight items Oct. 18 into the fair's exhibit contest, which is sponsored by the Columbia County 4-H and the Merchants Association of Columbia County. After the judging the next day, Tori walked away with three first-place finishes, two second-place finishes and $31 in prize money.
"I was really surprised," said Tori, and eighth-grader at Greenbrier Middle School and a 4-H junior board member. "I really didn't think I was going to get all this."
Developing a love of arts and crafts at an early age, the Appling resident credits her family for teaching her the skills she used to win.
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"Most of the stuff I did was with my family," Tori said. "My great-grandma taught me how to cross-stitch, and my grandma helped me do some things. Everything I entered was stuff that I learned how to do from them."
Tori Knox, 13, of Appling, won several first and second place prizes at the Columbia County Fair.
Photo by Donnie Fetter
Competing in the sixth- to eighth-grade age group, Tori won first places in the "other art" category for a relief of a house she made with aluminum foil and spaghetti noodles, a yarn basket she entered into the household accessory category and a cross-stitch she made celebrating her birthdate. She won 2nd places in the pillow category and for a jar of pickles she entered against adults in a canning category.
"I just like to do different stuff," Tori said. "It's a time to get together with my family. There are things like the cross-stitching I could have never done by myself."
A first-time competitor in the annual fair exhibit, Tori said the lure of prize money convinced her to compete.
"My friends kept mentioning the money they won in the fair," she said. "It kind of persuaded me to give it a try."
Other items that Tori entered, but didn't place, were a decorated picture frame, a ceramic piece and a canned jar of multicolored beans.
Although she didn't win for those items, she said she still had fun making them.
"I wanted to do something decorative and I like learning new things," she said. "I think I'll continue doing it. It was fun."