Former Miss Woodstock is Mrs. Kansas America

BY STEPHANIE PRICE | 3:00 P.M. JULY 11, 2016

Kristin Wetta, formerly a Miss Woodstock, was crowned Mrs. Kansas America on June 18. Photo by Ken Farver

Kristin Wetta won her first tiara crown as Miss Woodstock in 1998. 

Having just graduated from Woodstock High School, Wetta – whose maiden name is Farver – went on to compete in the Miss McHenry County Queen Pageant that year and the next.

When the pageantry was over, she moved on with her life, and the tiara, sashes, gifts and photographs quickly became keepsakes. She married her husband, Luke, and moved to Kansas, where they have been busy raising their son, Kaleb, now 7, in Wichita. 

A few years ago, Wetta saw her father, Ken Farver, a photographer for The Woodstock Independent, taking photographs at the Miss Woodstock and Miss McHenry County pageants. Watching her dad and pageants brought back many good memories for Wetta. 

“I had fond memories of doing the pageants when I was younger and decided I wanted to do them again,” said Wetta, now 36. “At the time, I didn’t even know there were Mrs. pageants. But I looked into it and quickly learned there were.” 

Wetta entered her first Mrs. pageant in 2014, entering the Mrs. Kansas United States Pageant. She didn’t place among the top contenders the first year but returned the following year to capture the Mrs. Photogenic and Mrs. Congeniality awards. She also entered the Mrs. Kansas-America pageant, a separate organization with a different judging system. She won second runner-up. The early success inspired the former Woodstock girl to try again.

“They say to find a system you will do well in, so I switched over to the Mrs. America pageant,” she said. 

On June 18, Wetta was crowned Mrs. Kansas America in Chillicothe, Mo. She will advance to compete in the national Mrs. America Pageant scheduled for Aug. 27 in Las Vegas. In addition to winning the crown, most of her trip to the national competition is paid by the pageant, which can be seen live-streamed online, she said. 

Mrs. Kansas America contestants were judged by their interview, accounting for 50 percent of the score; and by evening gown and swimwear competitions, which were each 25 percent of the overall score.

Like its Miss America Pageant counterpart, the Mrs. America Pageant requires contestants to have a platform, a cause they plan to promote should they win the title. Wetta selected cystic fibrosis as her platform. Her husband’s family has lost three members to CF, a genetic disorder that impacts the lungs and other organs. Wetta’s 30-year-old cousin, Justine Komin, of Wichita, also suffers from cystic fibrosis. 

“I did an eight-week fundraiser competition where I raised $10,000 for cystic fibrosis on behalf of Justine, and I became so passionate about it that I decided to make it my platform,” Wetta said. 

Just as Wetta’s parents supported her when she competed in the Miss Woodstock Scholarship Pageant, her father and mother, Julie Farver, are always in the audience during the Mrs. pageants. They watched as their daughter was crowned Mrs. Kansas last week and plan to attend the national competition next month. Wetta appreciates their support.

“It was so much fun to have them there,” she said. “It’s always nerve-wracking until the very last moment. And, of course, afterwards I get a hundred photographs from the night. I get super spoiled.” 

http://www.thewoodstockindependent.com/June-2016/Former-Miss-Woodstock-is-Mrs-Kansas-America/