A Queen has officially received her rightful crown. Over the weekend, our cameras hit the road and took the 90 minute drive east across the Cascade Mountains to the town of Cle Elum, Washington, for the coronation of 17-teen-year-old Jessa Thomas, Miss Teen Rodeo Washington State. Jessa isn't just any Queen, she is the first-ever Black Queen for Miss Teen Rodeo in Washington State, and the honor was well deserved. More about Jessa below:

Jessa Thomas is a 17-year-old, first-generation cowgirl from Kittitas County, Washington. She is the reigning Miss Teen Rodeo Washington 2024. Her journey began in a yellow velour tracksuit at a pumpkin patch on a pony at age 2. Her love for animals would continue to grow from that point on. At age 5, her family purchased their first horses, and she spent countless hours working at the barn, learning everything she could about horse care and horsemanship. It was there she trained to compete in cutting and sorting.

Jessa, the first African American state title holder, is passionate about providing greater representation for the many different demographics in our great state. Through her platform, “Be YOU-tiful”, she is determined to inspire people to be proud of who they are and to embrace their uniqueness. Jessa encourages everyone to find their purpose and to Be YOU-tiful. Jessa believes that everyone should have the chance to experience the feeling of standing in an arena surrounded by a patriotic community, coming together to pray, to cheer, and to laugh.

Over the last few weeks, our film crew has documented Jessa as she crisscrossed Washington State and we are excited to release a short film in the coming weeks on Back2Besa with Besa Gordon on FOX 13 Seattle.

To learn more and to support Jessa Thomas, click here.

See more photos below taken by Jordan Somers on behalf of Converge Media from Jessa’s coronation.