On the Road with Florida Watermelon
Over the past few months, Queen Alyssa and I have been everywhere from Orlando to Washington D.C. promoting something we all love….Florida Watermelon!!!
On the first of October, we partnered up with Chef Justin from “Fresh from Florida” cutting and handing out watermelon at the Rock n Roll Running Series Marathon Run in Clearwater Beach, Florida. The estimated crowd in a two-day period was over 8,000 attendees.
The next week, Queen Alyssa and I traveled to Orlando, Florida for our 55th Annual Florida Watermelon Convention. We had seven beautiful young ladies this year competing for the 2024 Florida Watermelon Queen Title. Congratulations to Elaine Mason of Gainesville for being crowned the 2024 Florida Watermelon Queen. First runner-up was Caroline Schapansky from Gainesville, Fla. and Second runner-up was Kayden Strickland from Fort Myers, Fla. Our Jubilee Award went to Caroline Schapansky. Also, Congratulations goes out to Mr. Adrian Land for being selected as our Second Vice-President. Congratulations to Rob and Kelly Gibson for receiving the “Outstanding Achievement Award” and our former Executive Director Debbie Johnson for receiving the “Lifetime Achievement Award”. It was a fun-filled weekend by everyone who attended.
The last weekend of October, Queen Alyssa and I headed to Washington, D.C. for the 48th Annual Marine Corps Marathon. Over 30,000 Runners participate in this event each year along with the support of their family and friends from all over the country. Thanks to the National Watermelon Promotion Board for setting this up each year for all of us to come and hand out cups of watermelon. Over 10,000 pounds of watermelon was handed out.
The Florida Watermelon Association and I would like to wish Queen Alyssa “Good Luck” as she competes for the 2024 National Watermelon Queen Title being held in Scottsdale, Arizona. Queen Alyssa has been a wonderful ambassador for Florida watermelon. Queen Alyssa is looking forward to seeing and visiting with everyone at the upcoming conventions in the months ahead.
Hope everyone has a safe, and Happy Holidays, and don’t forget to pick up Florida watermelon at your local grocery stores this season.
Until next time!
Debra Harrison
Florida Watermelon Promotions Coordinator