Biloxi’s Gulf Coast Carnival Association announces Queen Ixolib and King d’Iberville

One of the oldest and most prestigious Carnival organizations on the Coast has announced their 2022 king and queen.

King d’Iberville and Queen Ixolib, hailing from Gulf Coast Carnival Association in Biloxi, are considered the official royalty of Mardi Gras in South Mississippi.

Get to know the GCCA king and queen before the downtown Biloxi parade rolls on Fat Tuesday.

Queen Ixolib

Madison Elizabeth Warren of Gulfport is Queen Ixolib.

She is the daughter of Steven Michael Warren and Jamie Elizabeth Warren. Her maternal grandmother is Nancy Elizabeth Pepperman. Her paternal grandparents are Lawrence Wayne and Bonnie Purvis Warren and Beverly Joyce Warren.

Madison is a graduate of Gulfport High School, where she was a varsity cheerleader, a member of the homecoming court and a class favorite. She was a member of National Honor Society, Key Club, the Fellowship of Christian Athletes, a Mississippi Eminent Scholar and Universal Cheerleading Association four-time All-American Cheerleader.

She graduated from Mississippi State University with a bachelor’s degree in Marketing. She was a Mississippi State Foundation Ambassador, serving as vice president and events coordinator, a member of Kappa Delta Sorority and a collaborate programmer for the Resident Hall Association. Madison was a member of the National Society of Leadership and Success, the Accounting and Financial Women’s Alliance, Mississippi State’s Research & Development Committee, Undergraduate Women in Business and Accounting and Finance Student Society.

Madison is a member of Trinity United Methodist Church and danced with Kelli’s Steps Showstoppers. She was a member of the Gulf Coast Debutante Society. She was awarded a Freshman Academic Scholarship, Key Club Scholarship, and was invited to represent Mississippi State University at the Mississippi Innovators Hall of Fame Awards Gala for the induction of Leo Seal, Jr.

She was a maid to Queen Ixolib in 2020 and a flag bearer in 2013. Her father, Steven Warren, was a Duke in 2011. Her sister, Hannah Warren, was a flag bearer in 2015. Her sister, Haley Warren, was a flag bearer in 2016.

King d’Iberville

Robert J. “Bobby” Knesal of Gulfport King d’Iberville.

Bobby is the husband of Rhonda Underwood Knesal. They are the parents of Geoffrey J. Knesal and C. Jarrod Knesal. He is the son of the late Bill and Betty Knesal.

Bobby is a 1973 graduate of Gulfport East High School. He attended Mississippi State University, where he received a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering in 1977. He is a registered professional engineer and land surveyor.

He is senior vice-president of H2O Innovation, a publicly traded company specializing in design/build and operation of water and wastewater treatment systems and the operation and management of Public Works Departments through privatization contracts with several cities and utility authorities. They employ over 600 people regionally. He was previously vice president of Utility Partners, a private utility management company and was instrumental in the sale of the company to H2O Innovation.

As a private land developer, he has developed several residential subdivisions in Gulfport and Harrison County, including Stanton Place, The Briars and Brookestone. He has also developed commercial properties in Gulfport and Hattiesburg.

He is a member of American Society of Civil Engineers, Association of General Contractors and Mississippi Engineering Society. He was appointed by the Harrison County Board of Supervisors as a commissioner for the Mississippi State Port Authority in Gulfport. He is currently president, serving his 10th year on the commission.

Bobby is also a board member of the Mississippi Coast Foreign Trade Zone and president of the utility infrastructure division of the Association of General Contractors.

He is a lifelong member of St. James Catholic Church in Gulfport, where he served as a member and president of the parish council.

Bobby served as a GCCA Duke in 2007. His wife, Rhonda, is a Biloxi native who was queen of Les Cavaliers in 2001, queen of The Revelers in 2016 and maid in Order of Billikens on two occasions. His brother-in-law, Dr. Mitchell Gruich, Jr., was previously a GCCA duke.

Bobby and Rhonda enjoy traveling to the Caribbean Islands, Key West and to New Orleans for Saints football games with close friends and family. Don’t invite them to travel north as they hate the cold and do not snow ski.

He is also a member of The Pelican’s Roost, a private group of friends who own a camp on Cat Island which they never visit enough. It is a great escape close to home and may be the location of his retirement job one day. Somebody has to keep the alligators and raccoons fed.

This story was originally published February 27, 2022 at 8:00 AM.