KCFA board set to discuss parents’ concerns; sponsor pulls out

A sponsor of Kendall County Fair Association events announced Monday it was pulling its support after parents of former Queens Court members and others raised concerns about what they say are failures within the pageant program.

The KCFA planned to hold a special board meeting Monday after the 2025 Queens Court members, their guardians and community supporters confronted association leadership Friday during a heated session. A follow- up meeting for fair directors and general membership is being considered for next week.

The Star has made several attempts to seek comments from KCFA leaders without a response. Ford of Boerne, which previously provided vehicles and monetary donations for KCFA events, informed the Star the dealership will no longer sponsor the organization in the wake of reports parents had concerns about the safe driving records of some drivers of pageant vehicles.

“We had no knowledge of all this,” said Ceasar Kondo, general manager of Ford of Boerne. “This is not conducive to our beliefs, and we will no longer participate unless everything is fixed and addressed.” The three-hour meeting Friday included criticism of KCFA President Wes Fleming, First Vice President Kim Flessner and Pageant Director Johanna Olivarez.

Families raised concerns about contestant treatment, judging procedures, governance issues and the board’s response to complaints brought forward during the past year.

Questions regarding leadership and contestants’ well-being emerged early in the meeting.

Former Queens Court member Megan Wilson told board members many of the concerns raised this year mirrored issues she experienced about 20 years ago.

Wilson and several parents described a culture they said discouraged contestants and families from speaking out, while saying contestants were threatened with losing their titles if concerns continued to be raised. Much of the meeting focused on the controversy surrounding former Queen Makenna Jureczki’s farewell speech during the 202627 pageant earlier this month, when her microphone abruptly was cut off while she addressed the audience with concerns about last year’s event.

Text messages provided to the Star show Makenna’s mother, Tiffany Jureczki, had communicated with Fleming about the speech beforehand and provided him a copy at his request.

Parents also challenged the legitimacy of the 2026-27 pageant results from Sept. 3, questioning score sheets and whether proper chain-of-custody procedures had been followed.

The meeting concluded without formal action, but attendees called for leadership changes and reforms to the pageant program.

Directors at a subsequent meeting are expected to discuss the concerns and could take further action as outlined in the association’s bylaws.