The Queens and The Court

It takes many fabulous volunteers, referred to as The Court, to make Crape Myrtle Festival (CMF) successful each year. The Court came into existence when founders Frank Hielema, Timmy Simmons and Kent Davis were in Wilmington, NC with Mike Boyd for the very first festival. In jest and grand celebration, Frank, Timmy and Kent broke some crape myrtle branches off a flowering tree, made a crown and crowned Mike Boyd the first Queen. As history would have it, every Queen requires a trusted group of individuals to help her rule, thus The Court was born.

The title of Queen has been an honor given to someone who not only volunteered with CMF as a Court member but earned it through dedication and hard work. As the organization grew, and with it the number of volunteers, it was decided that the Queen should have a Co-Queen to help share the responsibilities. Each year The Queen and Co-Queen are selected by the CMF Board to lead fundraising efforts for the current year.

The CMF Board and the incoming Queens select a new group of volunteers to serve for a year, beginning and ending at our Annual Grand Gala. These are the people who put in time, effort, laughter, and tears to make the fundraising possible.

It's with great excitement that we introduce this year's Queens and Court!