Five Hills royalty shuck the competition at Holland Corn Fest

Special to the Leader-Press

“One-two-three: shuck!”  The judge at the Holland Corn Festival signaled the start and the Copperas Cove Five Hills royalty began shucking corn as fast as they could, ultimately winning the junior division and placing third in the adult division.
Five Hills Junior Ambassador Emily Kimball was thrilled when she found out she had stripped the shucks and silks off the cob the fastest in the junior contest.
“The corn shucking contest was a new event this year and I wasn’t sure about it at first. But, I am glad I participated because it was fun and I won first place,” Kimball said. “I always enjoy attending the festivals in other communities, especially this one because they have lots of activities that I don’t normally do. I think we represented our city well in Holland this weekend.”
The royalty gave it their best efforts corn eating, shucking, spitting, bobbing, and throwing. Ms. Five Hills Ashley Coombs placed third in corn shucking, her second award of the day, after winning the senior corn eating contest. Coombs threw her ear of corn 74.9 feet and spit her kernel of corn 15.9 feet.
“Everyone there was so supportive of the royalty, and winning the corn-eating contest was just the icing on the cake,” Coombs said. “My favorite part was judging the barbecue rib competition. They were delicious.” 
The titleholders also participated in Killeen’s annual Juneteenth parade and were visiting royalty at the Juneteenth pageant. They enjoyed an ice cream social with the residents of a local nursing home, assisted with the adoption of animals at the city shelter, and helped kick-off the city library summer reading program. 
In royal sightings this week, the titleholders will assist with the Fort Hood Lemonade Day Golf Tournament, host bingo at a local nursing home, and participate in the PTSD Awareness Walk as well as the Star Group-Veterans Helping Veterans annual Independence Day picnic on Saturday.  

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