Sweet Spring Greetings from Texas!
Our Texas Watermelon Queen, Kristin Valadez, will
soon begin her promotions starting with the Viva
Fresh expo in Austin, Texas this March. In late February she took some time to travel to the Rio Grande
Valley and learn about transplanting watermelon
from John Prukop, a long time farmer here in south
Texas. She looks forward to going to queen training
in North Carolina before the busy summer season
begins. Kristin is a graduate of Texas A & M University. She has a B.S. in Animal Science and currently
works as a Health and Fitness Facilitator for the Brazos Valley Center for Independent Living. She plans
on going back to school to get her master’s degree
in Occupational Therapy. She is looking forward to
her duties and to starting her adventure as the Texas
Watermelon Queen. Kristin said, “I am very excited
about immersing myself in this wonderful industry!
I am hopeful that through the upcoming year my efforts promoting Texas Watermelons help us connect
with an expanded customer base and educate more
individuals about the health benefits of watermelon.”
This February I had the honor to be one of the judges
at the 2015 National Watermelon Queen Pageant. It
was a unique experience for me as a coordinator, but
we did not have a contestant in the pageant so I was
happy to participate. Palm Springs and the La Quinta
Resort were beautiful, and I loved seeing all of the
NWA members who attended. Thanks to our sponsors, Borders Melons, Warren Produce and Wiggins
Watermelons for allowing me to attend. For those of
you who have judged any of the pageants in the past,
I now truly understand how tough it can be. Thank
you so much to the other judges, Jane Jennings,
Julie Conrad, Brad Brownsey, and Tony Mosco who
made the experience such a pleasure. The seven state
queens were all beautiful girls with so much to offer
and each had their own unique qualities which would
make them a wonderful queen. The contestants were
judged on their speeches, promotion wear, interviews
with the judges, video-taped interviews, a written
assignment, and finally the evening gown. These
young ladies showed poise and composure through
the tough days of judging. Every one of them should
be very proud of how well they did. In the end the
young lady chosen was Emily Brown, the Illiana
Watermelon Queen. Congratulations to you, Emily. I
hope your year is wonderful!
May you all have an exceptionally wonderful year.
With fondest regards,
Barbara Duda
TWA Coordinator/Secretary
bcduda62@yahoo.com
The 2014 NWA Queen Brandi Harrison and the
2015 Queen Contestants
The beautiful
La Quinta Resort
The first runner-up, Miss Breanna Williams, the 2014 North
Carolina Watermelon Queen
Kendra Kennedy and Julie Conrad, both past national queens
and Mr. Sully Conrad- AKA Cutie Pie
The second runner-up, Miss Montana Savage,
the 2014 Alabama Watermelon Queen
The beautiful Queen Contestants in their evening gowns
Kristen is observing the work of transplanting
at Wallace Farms.
Queen Brandi congratulates Emily Brown,
the 2015 National Watermelon Queen
Kristen is learning about transplanting watermelon
from Mr. John Prukop.
