White County’s Hannah Haley crowned the statewide winner as the 2026 Tennessee Fairest of the Fair.
Haley entered the event without extensive experience in pageants. She became the first White County Fair representative to win the title.
“Well, it was completely unexpected because even at county, that was my first pageant here at Sparta in August because I’ve just never been a pageant girl,” Haley said. “So it was very surprising, I was caught very off guard, same thing with being called into the top ten and so on because it’s just something I would have never expected and I mean obviously I was overwhelmed with excitement because I’ve worked so hard for the past few months on this and it’s just really nice to see hard work being rewarded.”
Haley said she now plans to visit 52 fairs and attend various meetings. She intends to use these appearances to expand her platform titled “Barbie: You Can Be Anything,” which encourages children to pursue their goals through dedication.
“Well, ever since I was in elementary school, Barbie’s been my role model because she showed me that if I stay dedicated and stay true to who I am that anything’s possible and that’s her famous motto: you can be anything,” Haley said. “Barbie was a lawyer, a doctor, a teacher, an entrepreneur and anything she wanted to be and that just inspires so many kids around the world.”
The initiative involves visiting every elementary school in the county to give presentations and organizing toy drives for Vanderbilt Children’s Hospital. Haley emphasized the importance of education and ensuring parents do not have to worry about buying Christmas presents while their children are hospitalized.
“Well, actually, my grandpa, Papa Haley, Donnie Haley, I don’t know if you know him, but he had always wanted me to do a pageant and I was just kind of like, no, but I was starting to get towards the end of my age category, so my Papa’s just like just do it one time, if you don’t like it you don’t have to do it again, I just think it’d be a fun experience,” Haley said. “And I mean I’m a girl, I love getting dressed up and whatnot so I was like alright I’ll do it.”
Haley will spend the coming year traveling across the state to meet with community members and other queens while promoting her message of confidence to young girls.