The Hutcherson Flying Queens Foundation Mentorship Program launches its inaugural year with a dinner Saturday, September 26, at the home of Joe and Elaine Barnes outside Plainview.
Seventeen current Flying Queens and 18 former Queens make up the program’s first mentor-mentee class, bringing together generations of Flying Queens through conversation, encouragement, guidance, and their shared Queens experience.
The inaugural group spans decades of Flying Queens history. Mentors include Juanita Clepper Parks, the oldest living Flying Queen, and Jenna Cooper-Jackson, one of the youngest former Queens participating in the program.
The mentorship program is designed to be flexible and relationship-driven. Mentor-mentee pairs are encouraged to connect about once a month from September through May, using whatever form of communication works best for them. Each pair can shape the relationship around the interests, experiences, goals, and questions most meaningful to them.
The initiative provides former Queens another way to remain connected to the program while giving current student-athletes an opportunity to build relationships with women who understand the unique experience and legacy of being a Flying Queen.
2026–27 HFQF Mentor-Mentee Pairings
| Current Flying Queen | Flying Queen Mentor |
| Brooklyn Birkenfeld | Elaine Barnes |
| Peyton North | Morgan Bennett-Brown |
| Morgan Dodd | Darla Ford |
| Emmerson Easterwood | Jenna Cooper-Jackson |
| Elizabeth Buendia | Dawn Hilburn |
| Bella Dabbs | Valerie Goodwin-Colbert |
| Brooklyn Hurtado | Christie Shippy |
| Sophia Tolliver | Breena Caldwell |
| Alyssa Mancias | Darla Merrill |
| Tyanna Simpson | Felicia Cotton |
| Ainsley Herbert | Kathy Booth Loter |
| Timorese Najbrtova | Barbara McAninch |
| Iliana Hernandez | Becca Wilhite |
| Townli Wheeler | Juanita Parks and Betty Donaldson, co-mentors |
| Heaven Hayden | Rosemary Bowser |
| Shiliane Kent | Cherri Rapp |
| Brooklin Riggs | Casey Botos |
HFQF Mentorship Program Steering Committee
Valerie Goodwin-Colbert | Dawn Hilburn | Darla Ford | Shelly Smith| Becca Wilhite