Hailey Johndrow is 2-for-2 when it comes to competing for a chance to walk the “royalty runway.” Last year, in her first-ever pageant, she entered the Kendall County Fair Association Queen’s Court Scholarship Pageant and was crowned duchess in the queen’s court.
This year, it was her turn to rule. After a trio of judges deliberated for about 75 minutes, they emerged and named Lila Morrison as queen court princess – leaving Johndrow seated on stage, alone, with only the queen yet to be named.
Johndrow said she was elated and didn’t know exactly how to react when she realized she was going to be named queen. But she grabbed the spotlight and the applause when her name was announced as the 2023-24 Kendall County Fair Association queen.
“I’ve been coming to the fair since I was little. My mom used to be a part of it, she would show when she was younger,” Johndrow said. “We’ve just always had a love for coming to the fair.”
Johndrow shares a trait with Mayah Morrison, the 2022-23 fair queen who presented the all-smiles Johndrow with her sash, crown and flowers when her name was announced as the new queen.
“We are both Type 1 diabetics,” Johndrow said. “I was diagnosed about eight years ago, and she was diagnosed 1 or 2 years after me.”
Eight years old at the time, Johndrow said she did not fully understand what it all meant.
“It was about two months before my birthday, so we were all struggling, and didn’t know exactly what to do,” she said.
The family reached out for guidance and expertise and found it, in the form of the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation, in San Antonio.
“We found the right people … and I got the hang of it. And now here I stand, almost 17 years old.”
While many pageant participants compete for years and years, Johndrow -- a 16-year-old junior at Boerne High School -- was in only her second year of competition Thursday.
“Definitely, when I was younger, I had mentioned I wanted to do it,” she said, of entering a pageant like the fair queen’s court, “but we didn’t have the time or the money at the time. It just wasn’t the time.”
She was asked what advice she would give to her younger self – to the 8-year-old fresh off a diabetes diagnosis.
“I’d probably say not to be scared, that everything turns out completely fine, and that God is watching over you, no matter what,” she said.
Johndrow and the rest of the queen’s court – Princess Lila Morrison, Jr. Miss Michaela Reichenau, and Little Miss Raylee Resop – reigned over the rest of fair weekend, including today’s events.
When asked how she planned to celebrate the win, Johndrow laughed and said, “Go home and sleep. It’s going to be a long weekend full of fun.”
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