ELKINS — With a nod to carrying on traditions and the promise of creating new friendships and memories, Mountain State Forest Festival officials welcomed Maid Silvia LXXXVI Lilly Harper Ryan and her Maids of Honor Kourtney Nicole Jones and Jaden Faith Pratt during a reception in their honor at Graceland Inn on the campus of Davis & Elkins College.
In addressing the group, Director General Peggy Phillips reminisced about many of the Forest Festival events including the Royal Court’s tour of local schools and businesses, the carnival that lights up the downtown and the three parades that travel through the city’s streets. All of those come together to form this year’s theme “Timeless Traditions.”
Although Maid Silvia is a resident of Ona, the Forest Festival has been a tradition throughout her life. She said one of her earliest memories of the fall celebration is riding in the Grand Feature Parade with her grandfather Frank Santmyer when he was president of the board of directors.
“This is an incredible honor and opportunity that words can’t express,” Ryan said. “I grew up coming to the Forest Festival and now becoming Maid Silvia feels unreal.”
This fall, the future queen will be a senior at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio. In December, she will graduate with honors with a Bachelor of Arts degree in political science and a minor in disability studies.
As a student in the combined bachelor’s/master’s program, she will receive her Master of Arts degree in political science in May 2025.
She is the daughter of Retired Lieutenant Colonel Jerry “Chip” Floyd and Amy Floyd of Ona, and the granddaughter of Frank and Laura Santmyer of Elkins, Jim and Diana Sturm of Huntington, Norwin and Donna Lilly of South Charleston, Joe and Janet Richards of Charleston, Sandra Dennison of Ona and the late Jerry Floyd. She has one brother, Jaxon Santmyer, and two sisters, Anna and Erin Floyd.
Jones told the group that it seems like not that long ago when she spent the best week of her life as a flower girl in the 79th Forest Festival. She remembers seeing the Maids of Honor and wishing that someday she could be like them. This year she will have her chance. She added that she looks forward to again being part of the Festival and welcoming the many visitors.
Jones is the daughter of John and Amanda Jones of Elkins. She is the granddaughter of John and Judy Haskins of Buckhannon, and the late John Jones and Wilma Rogers of Elkins.
A 2024 graduate of Elkins High School, she will be a freshman at West Virginia Wesleyan College this fall where she is in the Honor’s College and plans to major in nursing and dietetics/nutrition.
Pratt said the Forest Festival has been a tradition for her and her family throughout the years and serving as a Maid of Honor has been something she’s dreamt of since childhood. She was a flower girl in the 76th Forest Festival.
The daughter of Seth and Michelle Pratt of Elkins, she is the granddaughter of Kenneth and Sharon Burgess of Beverly, and Jim and Harriet Pratt of Charleston, South Carolina. She has one brother, Curt Conrad, and three sisters, Emily Conrad Timmons and husband Joel, Jaycee Pratt and fiance, Christian Mayle, and Saniya Pratt-Taylor.
A 2021 graduate of Elkins High School, Pratt will be a senior at Davis & Elkins College this fall where she is pursuing a Bachelor of Science degree in nursing.
The 86th Mountain State Forest Festival will take place from Saturday, Sept. 28 through Sunday, Oct. 6.
“I invite you to soak in all the Festival has to offer,” Phillips said.