Caught on camera: A fair proposal

Published 2:06 pm Sunday, August 10, 2014

Tuesday evening’s parade though the Indiana State Fair changed Angie Graham’s life. And Rick Batie’s, too.

Graham was watching the nightly festivities with her daughter and mom under the belief her nephew would be marching with his school football team. That’s when she spotted Batie, her boyfriend of five years, riding in a golf cart and holding a sign that said, “Angie, will you marry me?”

Graham’s surprise was recorded on video as Beatie hopped down from the golf cart and dropped to one knee. Batie, an optimist, had another sign at the ready: “She said yes.”

The happy couple then rode off into the sunset.

Batie, 42, decided earlier in the day he wanted to propose at the fair when he hatched his plan with help from the fair’s media relations intern. He rushed from his business, where he sells police supplies, to meet his ride for the parade.

“He is rather spontaneous, and he likes to do crazy things like that. He’s creative,” said Graham, 41, who had been convinced to wait in a specific spot along the parade route to cheer on her nephew.

In his haste, Batie did not buy an engagement ring but instead presented Graham with a ring fashioned from twist ties, she said.

“Now, he says, we have to have another special evening to give me a ring,” she said.

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Details for this story were provided by The Herald Bulletin of Anderson, Ind.