Santa Maria Elks Rodeo and Parade crowns 2020 queen
SANTA MARIA, Calif. - The Santa Maria Elks Rodeo crowned Faith Debrum as the 2020 Rodeo Queen during a private ceremony Friday night.
There were a total of three candidates this year who each represented and raised money for a local nonprofit organization. They fundraised a total of $440,059.
The candidates were Faith Debrum representing VTC Enterprises, Anna Kuykendall representing St. Joseph High School, and Sabrina Dana representing NSBC United Way.
The candidates had to get creative with their fundraisers, which were all virtual this year, because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The women said, at the end of the day, it was an honor to represent a local nonprofit and be an Elks Rodeo Queen candidate.
The announcement of queen usually comes during the rodeo at the start of summer, but that changed with the pandemic. Organizers originally postponed the rodeo to this weekend before eventually canceling it altogether.
Last year, the four queen candidates raised just under $800,000, which established a new one-year record.
Since it was created, the Elks Rodeo queen contest has raised more than $13.5 million.