Maddy Romeo was named Queen for the 110th Strawberry Festival on May 31 during the annual coronation, which was held at Cheadle Lake Park this year.
Following earlier interviews with three judges and an impromptu question-answer presentation at the coronation, scores for the princesses were tallied in order to name this year’s queen.
“She’s real confident, and I especially liked her academics first as a priority, what she does in the community, and she’s an athlete,” said Boone Marker, one of the judges.
Judge Rhonda Brown said she was impressed by Romeo’s personality and the way she carried herself. Romeo was “very classy,” she said.
Romeo played soccer for three years and varsity basketball all four years in high school. This year She was captain of this year’s basketball team, which captured a league championship for the first time.
Maddy’s mom, Lori Romeo, said she’s watched her daughter play sports over the years and encourage her teammates and maintain her composure no matter the situation.
“Maddy has always been compassionate and caring of others,” Lori said. “We have loved watching Maddy grow into the strong confident young woman she is today.”
For her dad, Robb Romeo, Maddy has always been his “little princess.”
She always wore a Disney princess dress, and always dressed as a princess for Halloween, he said.
“We took a picture of Maddy when she was 3 years old on vacation where Maddy was pretending to be in her ‘castle’ perched up high above everyone. At first I sat back and watched her play. After a while I asked her what she was doing and she said she was looking out of her castle.”
Perhaps she was preparing for her 2019 role as Lebanon’s Strawberry Festival Queen.
After being crowned by 2018 Queen Courtney Foster, Maddy lifted her scepter and declared the beginning of the Strawberry festivities.