Meredith named Dogwood Queen

Elyn Rose Meredith of Warren was crowned as the 81st Queen of the Dogwood Festival. Photo courtesy of the Dogwood Festival Publicity Committee

By Chris Edwards
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WOODVILLE – The eighty-first Dogwood Festival cycle has now come and gone, and with the conclusion of Queen’s Weekend on Saturday, Tyler County has a new Dogwood Queen: Elyn Rose Meredith.

Meredith, a Warren resident, was crowned on Saturday night. Her win as the Dogwood Queen marks the second year in a row that the Queen has hailed from Warren. Her predecessor, Natalie Standley, is also from Warren.

The festival’s executive director Mandy Risinger said “I would like to thank everyone who came out and enjoyed the festivities and all of the volunteers who contributed to its success. For the most part,

We were blessed with good weather and wonderful participation for all three weekends.”

Risinger helmed the festival for her first year, after succeeding long-serving executive director Buck Hudson.

The new Dogwood Queen is the daughter of Brad and Brandy Meredith, and currently serves at Warren High School as Student Council President; HOSA President and in the National Honor Society. She is also active in athletics, and has played varsity volleyball for the Lady Warriors, and is the baseball team manager. She has also been involved in Future Farmers of America, and currently serves as the Warren FFA President and the Area IX Sentinel.

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Dogwood parade, coronation this weekend

Meredith enjoys reading and photography, and her float in the Dogwood Queen’s parade took first place honors. It depicted volunteer ladies making the traditional dogwood flowers, while getting their hair done. Her escort was Sam Spurlock, the son of Jason and Kimberly Spurlock.

The festival’s theme for 2024 was “Memories in Bloom,” with which the Dogwood Festival slate of directors encouraged all who participated to as “celebrating the blossom for the season, celebrating memories for a lifetime.”

The turnout for the Queen’s Weekend parade and downtown festivities was large, and overall, the festival proved a faithful testament to the vision of its founder James Wheat.

In addition to the classic car show on the Courthouse Square, and all of the food options, and various craft vendors, the annual 5K Dogwood Dash took place on Saturday morning, drawing 154 participants, total.

The overall winners were: Landon Heim, who won for the male division, with a time of 18:37.9. Heim, a Spurger resident, is the reigning male runner in the event. He won last year with a time of 20:05.9.

The winner in the female division was Mak Vaughn, a 14-year-old from Kyle, who notched a time of 24:06.5.

The dash drew many runners from Tyler County, ranging in age from five years old to 82. One of Woodville’s finest, Arin Dees, who has been participating in marathons as of late, ran the event in her uniform.

Dogwood Dash participants showed up to run in the annual 5K race. JIM POWERS | TCB