Ryan Green is the Fairest of them all

JOHN COFFELTEditor

Manchester native tops 45 top contestants to bring home title of Fairest of the Fairs

Coffee County’s Fairest of the Fair Ryan Green has won the 2024 Tennessee State Fairest of the Fairs Coffee County, held Jan. 19 in Murfreesboro.

Green was originally crowned Coffee County Fairest Saturday, Sept. 2, wearing a flowing yellow chiffon gown.

Friday night the college freshman wore red as she topped about 45 other fairest contestants to bring home the state title.

Green’s red taffeta single shoulder dress came from Glitz Nashville.

“I tried on a bunch of dresses,” Green said. “But I really loved how classy this one was. I wanted to do something a little different.”

“It reminds me of my mom’s prom dress,” Green said. “My mom loved it and it was easy to walk in and made me feel confident.”

Hair in a little up-do, Green took the stage Friday night being her best self, as she called it.

“That was my key to success, because I felt so confident.”

Green arrived in a snow-covered Murfreesboro on Thursday for rehearsals, and a Barbie party with the other Fairest winners from across the state to get acquainted.

Green woke early Friday for panel interviews with all the judges before the main event Friday night.

“It was definitely stressful walking into it, but then something made me have peace,” she said. “It was a lot of fun, and the girls were very supportive.”

Green made it into the top 10 and was given the question, “What is one piece of advice you have received?”

Then she advanced to the top five.

“I’ve had a lot of interview practice and have done a few pageants and had a lot of mock interviews, so I’ve gotten warmed up into the interview room,” Green said.

“That’s the part where I feel most confident in the pageant, where I talk,” she said. “That’s not normal for a lot of girls — they get a little bit nervous.”

Green answered her question about her most valued piece of advice with “know your worth; be confident in every room you walk into.”

She said that she felt very confident after she answered that question, “I really wanted the judges to get to know who I am, not just base off what I look like.”

This was the final pageant for Green as reigning Fairest of the Fairs. She will represent the Tennessee Association of Fairs across the state. She will attend various county fairs across the state, representing the State Fair Board.

“I’ll love to go to Coffee County and represent my community … to local events and make appearances as much as I can,” she said. “I go to Tennessee Tech University, so I’m going to be coming back here as much as I can.”

“I’m really proud that Coffee County has won. It’s been a lot of years since Coffee County has gotten to represent the state fair board. It’s an honor that I get to do that,” Green said.

Cristy Clouse, who heads the Coffee County Pageants shared the fair’s excitement for Ryan and for our Coffee County Fair.

“She has been a great representative for Coffee County and now will also be a great representative for the entire state association. Ryan did a fantastic job throughout all of the contest. We are so proud of her,” Clouse said.

She notes that although the Coffee County Fair serves one of the larger counties by population, some of the fairs are regional fairs and some have pageants that are “open,” meaning they allow those outside the county to compete.

“Our pageant is closed to Coffee County residents. So, in the pageant, we often compete against fairs that have contestants coming from other parts of their regions and who are very experienced in the pageant world.

Ryan, however, is also experienced, having competed in other pageants including Miss Tennessee,” Clouse said.

She said that Green is very poised and confident on stage.

“She is beautiful on the outside, but she is also beautiful on the inside, which shows through in all that she does. She also is very articulate when she speaks and you can feel her sincerity when she answers questions on stage. That girl can talk,” Clouse said.

John has been with the Manchester Times since May 2011. John has won Tennessee Press Association awards for Best News Photo and placed in numerous other categories. John is a 1994 graduate of Tullahoma High School, a graduate of Motlow State Community College and earned a Bachelor of Arts in English from Middle Tennessee State University. He lives in Tullahoma, enjoys painting, dancing and exploring the outdoors.