Watermelon queen reflects on wearing the crown

At first glance, the Lakeland-based National Watermelon Association's Queen program might seem a bit archaic.

There was a time when most commodities were represented by pretty girls in tiaras who helped draw attention to oranges, strawberries — whatever.

Now, the nation's oldest trade association (the NWA has been around since 1913) is the last to be represented by "royalty."

But these are not just pretty girls on parade. Eight of the nine NWA state and regional chapters, including Florida, crown queens who serve for one year as industry ambassadors. From that group, a national queen is selected annually to represent watermelon around the globe for another 12 months.

The queens "literally become part-time employees of the association and will work 150 days out of the year traveling around the country, talking to consumers in grocery stores. They go to fairs and festivals; they go to schools and talk to children about good nutrition; they help consumers select watermelons and teach them how to do it; they do radio and television interviews," said NWA Executive Director Bob Morrissey.

"They're not lobbyists by any stretch of the term, but we bring all of them with their coordinators to Washington for United's public policy conference every fall and we put them in front of four or five congressional members from their state, along with other key people from the produce industry, to talk about key issues that the produce industry works on."

Reigning national queen Whitney Conner, 22, will hand over her tiara at the National Watermelon Convention today through Sunday at the Ritz-Carlton, Amelia Island.

A native of Abbeville, Ga. (population 2,980), Conner is a registered nurse currently studying for her master's degree, with plans to become a physician's assistant helping needy children in rural areas.

For the past two years, though, she lived a dream, traveling the country and seeing the world representing first the Georgia Chapter of the NWA and then the national association.

Despite her NWA duties, she maintained a 4.0 average in college. For the last year, she took classes online, carrying a laptop everywhere she went. It was a hectic but rewarding time.

"I've learned to manage my time very well," Conner told Central Florida's Agri-Leader from the Maryland-Delaware Watermelon Convention in Chesapeake Bay, one of her last official events as national queen.

"When you're passionate about something like this, you find ways to make things work so you can perform at the best of your abilities."

Her native Abbeville is in Wilcox County, 20 miles from Cordele, which bills itself as the "Watermelon Capital of the World." Three of the last five national queens have come from Georgia, and all have ties to Wilcox County.

"I grew up with a passion for agriculture, involved with the Future Farmers of America and my family farms," Conner said.

"The Georgia Watermelon Convention is held in Cordele, so I was familiar with the (queen) program. With me being passionate about the health care and medical field, I just thought it was a great way to tie my two passions together."

Conner's "knees were quivering and shaking" when she was named Georgia queen. A year later when she became national queen the feeling was "indescribable. It was almost like a dream," she said.

"I remember thinking it was the longest walk I ever had to make to get to that stage. I was crying — I have some of the most unflattering pictures from that — I was just overwhelmed. I could feel the love from everybody in the room, and I knew it was my job to represent them."

And represent them she did, from state fairs and conventions to the U.S. Congress to the halls of power in Tokyo, where the association makes regular visits to promote watermelon consumption in Japan.

"Through this, yes, I was the NWA representative, I was their spokesperson. But there's a fine line between being a representative and an advocate, and I'd like to say I was an advocate because I truly was passionate about the issues," Conner said.

"There are no words to describe how blessed and honored I feel to have had this opportunity, and I hope that I have represented them well. I hope I made them proud."

The most beautiful place she saw during her tenure was "the area around Banff, Canada in the Canadian Rockies; absolutely picturesque. The landscape around Lake Louise is almost surreal as melting glaciers flow into the crystal blue water," Conner said.

"By far, the most memorable experience was the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to say you served watermelon at the U.S. ambassador's Fourth of July party at his residence in Tokyo, shaking hands with the Japanese minister of defense."

Conner said "it's going to be extremely hard" to hand over her tiara at the Amelia Island convention.

"This has been my life for the past two years. I'm closing a chapter," she said. "It has helped me grow as a person. My view of the entire world is completely different. You are shaped by the experiences you have in life, and this is definitely one that has molded me into the person I am today, someone who is not afraid.

"So many young people are timid and afraid, but this experience has given me the self-confidence to be passionate about issues and work toward resolutions. We are the future of our country, and it's our responsibility to be involved and take a stand on things. I feel I have a voice now."