Ms. Oktoberfest  Pageant 2013

Brooke Hermiller Callahan was crowned Ms. Oktoberfest for the 2012 event at a pageant held at the German American Social Club on July 28. The 26-year-old radiation therapist has lived in Lee County for the past five years. Every day she devotes herself to helping those with cancer as well as volunteering with the Lee County Homeless Coalition in her spare time. The blonde beauty says she had thought about being Ms. Oktoberfest for some time, but it wasn't until she talked to members of the GASC at one of the Gartenfests that the dream started on the path to reality. "I love the German Heritage, the food, the music and the festivities," she said. "I want to continue to learn more about the customs and traditions and then be able to pass them on to the next generation as well." Brooke wasted no time in showing those attending the pageant that she was eager to get started in her role as festival queen as she danced away the rest of the evening after being crowned this year's winner. Rachel Hazelwood, a Hematology and Oncology nurse, was first runner up. Second runner-up was Esma Komsic, a native of Bosnia, who fled her native country and went first to Germany where she lived for eight years before immigrating to the United States.