Smith places in State Fair competition Published Sept. 11, 2011 By Tech. Sgt. Jeffrey Williams 934AW Minneapolis-St. Paul Air Reserve Station, Minn. -- After three decades of crocheting, Master Sgt. Shirley Smith, host aviation resource management chief for the 934th Operations Support Squadron, finally entered the Minnesota State Fair's annual competition. Her afghan of a Viking head took fifth place honors in the "Lot 272 Afghan, one piece, two or more colors crocheted articles" category. With it came a ribbon and a $2 stipend. She donated the cash to the Minnesota State Fair board. "This is the first time I've ever made that particular pattern with the Viking head. It turned out really well and I was happy with the way it turned out," Sergeant Smith said. "It felt good. It kind of validated my work. This was the first time I've ever entered any competition." The Minnesota State Fair has been run annually since its inception in 1859 with the exception of five different occasions. According to the Fair's Website, 1,769,872 people visited the Fair in 2011 between Aug. 25 and Sept. 5. The judging competitions cover thousands of individual contests in 8 major categories and 80 sub categories. Sergeant Smith advises Minnesotans interested in competing to visit the Fair's Website, www.mnstatefair.org for more information on the categories and entry rules. "Just get entered early and do your best work. It opened up the first of August and I entered online just after that. It's really easy," she said. When asked about whether she would compete again, Smith said, "I'll probably try it again. They have all kinds of different categories. Mostly I focus on afghans and kid's clothes. I make outfits for my cousin's kids for their Christmas pictures. Maybe I'll finish next year's in time to enter the competition."