Lillian ‘Lilly’ Bru pictured last summer during her reign as 2024 Iowa Pork Queen. Bru, a recent graduate of Green Mountain-Garwin High School and a resident of rural Gladbrook, turned the page on her yearlong reign as Queen during last month’s 2025 Iowa Pork Master Pork Producer Awards. CONTRIBUTED PHOTO

GLADBROOK – For the first time in many years, Green Mountain-Garwin (GMG) alumna Lillian ‘Lilly’ Bru no longer wears a tiara and she’s ok with that.

Over a year ago, Bru, who hails from a farm in rural Gladbrook and graduated from GMG last May, was crowned the 2024 Iowa Pork Queen during Iowa Pork Congress held in Des Moines. She beat out seven other finalists for the role which over the past year has seen her travel as far afield as the Florida State Fair to as close to home as a local elementary school classroom.

Before her statewide win in January 2024, Bru, the daughter of Ryan and Laura Bru, was already juggling multiple roles and titles. And while only some of those required a tiara, all certainly required dedication to promoting Iowa agriculture. Other ag roles Bru has held through the years include Tama County Pork Queen, GMG FFA president, Tama County 4-H Youth Council member, Wolfcreek Whirlwinds 4-H Club president, and Miss Tama County United States Agriculture.

More recently since enrolling at Des Moines Area Community College (DMACC) where she is pursuing an agribusiness degree, Bru has added Iowa Pork Collegiate Team member, DMACC Ag Club member, Iowa Swine Jackpot Series Junior Board member, and the prestigious Mark Pearson FFA Leadership Scholar to her list.

On Jan. 22, 2025, during the annual Iowa Pork Master Pork Producer Awards banquet, Bru stepped down as Iowa Pork Queen and passed the baton to a new leader. The newspaper interviewed Bru a week before her final (perhaps?) reign came to a close.

2024 Iowa Pork Queen Lilly Bru, center, pictured alongside her parents Laura and Ryan Bru while attending the 2025 Iowa Pork Congress last month in Des Moines. Bru’s parents live and farm in rural Gladbrook. CONTRIBUTED PHOTO

As the 2024 Iowa Pork Queen, how did the past year play out for you?

Lilly: “Throughout this past year, I have enjoyed serving as the 2024 Iowa Pork Queen. This amazing opportunity began during the 2024 Iowa Pork Congress and relinquished during the 2025 Iowa Pork Congress [during which I will hand off my] crown to another hardworking and lucky lady. During my year in this role, I have done as much as I possibly could. From attending county fair swine shows and elementary classroom visits to bratwurst judging and two different state fairs, (Iowa State Fair and Florida State Fair), I tried my best to do it all. I wanted to reach the most amount of people during my reign as Iowa Pork Queen, and I am happy to believe that I accomplished this goal.”

What motivated you to toss your tiara (hat) into the ring for the 2024 Iowa Pork Youth Leadership Team?

Lilly: “I was motivated to apply for this role with Iowa Pork because of my strong support of my county pork producers. The Tama County Pork Producers have truly taken me under their wing and helped me see the large opportunities that the Iowa pork industry offers. I wanted to run for the role of Iowa Pork Queen to show others what the pork industry had shown me thus far. Now that my time serving in this role has ended, I know that I had a great experience. From things like the amazing networking, increased self-confidence, and many memories, serving as the Iowa Pork Queen is something that I will miss and cherish.”

Please share your favorite aspect of being the Iowa Pork Queen. Were you able to affect change in the role?

GMG High School alumna Lilly Bru (back row, fifth from right) visits an Iowa elementary school classroom last year as part of her role as the 2024 Iowa Pork Queen. CONTRIBUTED PHOTO

Lilly: “My favorite part of my year as Iowa Pork Queen was attending the Iowa and Florida State Fairs. I started my year off by heading to Tampa to attend its state fair to educate citizens there about the pork industry, something that isn’t present in the state of Florida. Talking to individuals and advocating for the agriculture that supports me was very surreal as it allowed me to reach people with absolutely no agriculture background. At the Iowa State Fair, I helped with a little bit of everything, including swine shows, the Bacon Buddies program, the pork tent, and the animal learning center. In my home state fair, I loved spending time (35 hours to be exact) sitting by the farrowing display in the animal learning center and talking to kids about piglets. Finding different ways to reach out to people at these state fairs really helped me exceed my goals of teaching people about the swine industry.”

When were you the busiest as the 2024 Iowa Pork Queen?

Lilly: “My busiest time this past year as the Iowa Pork Queen was during the summer. From the end of June until the middle of August, I served well over 100 hours as queen by attending county fairs, town festivals, and county ag learning days.”

Would you encourage others to apply for the Iowa Pork Youth Leadership Team and, by extension, the chance to be Iowa Pork Queen?

Lilly: “I highly encourage any individual between the ages of 18-21 who is interested in advocating for the swine industry to apply for the Iowa Pork Youth Team. This is the most influential experience that I have ever gone through and would recommend it to anyone interested.”

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How do you view the future of Iowa agriculture?

Lilly: “Growing up around Iowa agriculture has made me who I am as a person today. I believe that there is so much change and opportunity occurring in it every day. Agriculture allows for all of us to survive, have jobs, and connect to one another, it should not be taken for granted.”

What are your own plans for the future now that your reign as Queen has come to an end?

Lilly: “Currently I am an agribusiness student at DMACC. After I complete my time there I plan to attend Iowa State University to major in agricultural studies and agricultural education.”

Anything else you’d like to share?

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Lilly: “Serving as the Iowa Pork Queen is something that I will take with me for the rest of my life, wherever it takes me.”

To learn more about applying for the 2026 Iowa Pork Youth Leadership Team, refer to the Iowa Pork Producers Association (IPPA) website (iowapork.org); specifically, navigate to the following webpage this coming October for more information: https://www.iowapork.org/community/youth/youth-leadership-team/youth-leadership-team-contest.

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