{"id":251,"date":"2010-03-08T10:17:49","date_gmt":"2010-03-08T10:17:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.whataboutwatermelon.com\/?p=251"},"modified":"2017-06-08T10:18:35","modified_gmt":"2017-06-08T10:18:35","slug":"an-interview-with-the-2010-national-watermelon-queen","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.whataboutwatermelon.com\/index.php\/2010\/03\/an-interview-with-the-2010-national-watermelon-queen\/","title":{"rendered":"AN INTERVIEW WITH THE 2010 NATIONAL WATERMELON QUEEN"},"content":{"rendered":"

Earlier this month, a new National Watermelon Queen was crowned at the National Watermelon Association\u2019s annual conference in Dallas, Texas.\u00a0\u00a0 Of course, last year\u2019s National Watermelon Queen, Maggie Bailey (you may remember my interview<\/a> with her), was on hand to welcome the new queen, Miss Jessica Southard from Bronson, Florida.<\/p>\n

To earn the title, Jessica competed against the nation\u2019s eight regional watermelon queens in a winner-take-all watermelon eating contest. Just kidding, the queens were actually judged on their poise, personality and knowledge of watermelons. Maybe I\u2019ll suggest adding a watermelon eating contest to the showdown next year.\u00a0 To help everyone get to know the new queen, I interviewed her, and here\u2019s what she had to say:<\/p>\n

HAS IT SUNK IN YET? YOU\u2019RE REPRESENTING AN ENTIRE NATION OF WATERMELON LOVERS \u2013 NOT JUST A REGION. WE\u2019RE TALKING ABOUT MILLIONS AND MILLIONS OF PEOPLE.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Absolutely not. However, the day after I was crowned, I headed strait home from Dallas. I\u2019d decided to try and salvage my bouquet of roses that I\u2019d received for winning. So, I took my seat on the plane with flowers galore in my lap.\u00a0 The passenger next to me asks, \u201cWhat\u2019s the occasion?\u201d I slowly responded, \u201cI am the National Watermelon Queen,\u201d with quite a bit of pride in my voice. The mere thought of my accomplishment took my breath away for a moment. I was representing all the entire American watermelon industry! And this is just the beginning.<\/p>\n

NOW THAT YOU\u2019RE QUEEN, WHAT\u2019S THE BIGGEST CHANGE YOU\u2019D LIKE TO MAKE DURING YOUR REIGN?<\/strong><\/p>\n

As an Agricultural Communication major and the National Watermelon Queen, my focus is to strengthen the communication between the consumer and the farmer. It is essential to establish a positive association with agriculture in the minds and hearts of consumers, so that they will continue to support the livelihood of our farmers. Also, making sure that our industry receives accurate and positive media coverage is at the top of my agenda.<\/p>\n

YOU\u2019LL PROBABLY BE TRAVELING A LOT OVER THE NEXT YEAR. WHAT ARE YOU LOOKING FORWARD TO THE MOST IN YOUR TRAVELS?<\/strong><\/p>\n

As a small town girl, I am looking forward to many cultural experiences. I am also very excited to see how other places market their watermelon and other agricultural commodities. Learning about the markets of other countries will only help improve our own.<\/p>\n

DO YOU HAVE ANY TIPS FOR THE GIRLS OUT THERE WHO WOULD LIKE TO BE A WATERMELON QUEEN SOMEDAY?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Absolutely! First of all, be passionate. Having passion will guide your success. Also, be informed. Learn as much as you can about the industry and get involved in it. Lastly, be yourself. Find your positive attributes and capitalize on them! Being a representative for an organization requires confidence and determination. Roadblocks are placed before us just to show how badly we want something. So get started!<\/p>\n

THAT\u2019S GOOD ADVICE! THANKS FOR TALKING WITH US TODAY, JESSICA, AND GOOD LUCK AS THE NEWEST NATIONAL WATERMELON QUEEN!<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Earlier this month, a new National Watermelon Queen was crowned at the National Watermelon Association\u2019s annual conference in Dallas, Texas.\u00a0\u00a0 Of course, last year\u2019s National Watermelon Queen, Maggie Bailey (you may remember my interview with her), was on hand to welcome the new queen, Miss Jessica Southard from Bronson, Florida. To earn the title, Jessica […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[146,8],"class_list":["post-251","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","category-general","tag-queen","tag-watermelon","entry"],"yoast_head":"\nAN INTERVIEW WITH THE 2010 NATIONAL WATERMELON QUEEN - What About Watermelon?<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.whataboutwatermelon.com\/index.php\/2010\/03\/an-interview-with-the-2010-national-watermelon-queen\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"AN INTERVIEW WITH THE 2010 NATIONAL WATERMELON QUEEN - What About Watermelon?\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Earlier this month, a new National Watermelon Queen was crowned at the National Watermelon Association\u2019s annual conference in Dallas, Texas.\u00a0\u00a0 Of course, last year\u2019s National Watermelon Queen, Maggie Bailey (you may remember my interview with her), was on hand to welcome the new queen, Miss Jessica Southard from Bronson, Florida. 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