Florida Watermelon Queen is a strong voice for state agriculture

Jessica Southard will be at Newberry Watermelon Festival this weekend

By Carrie A. Mizell

The 2009 Florida Watermelon Queen says she’s a far cry from a pageant princess; she totes a pocketknife, drives a Hummer and prefers boots with her dresses, rather than heels while walking the many fields of watermelon planted across the sunshine state.
“I’m not a sit in the truck kind of girl,” Jessica Southard said. “I was raised in the country.”
Originally from Archer, Jessica and her family moved to Bronson when she was in the fourth grade so they would have enough property for not only their home, but also a shop to build high performance race engines.
“I never thought I would fit in in Bronson,” Jessica said.
But her outgoing personality drew many friends, including Marcia Smith, her middle/high school agriculture teacher who pointed Jessica toward a passion for agriculture and membership in the Future Farmers of America.
After graduating valedictorian of the Bronson High School Class of 2008, Jessica enrolled in the University of Florida and started classes last fall to pursue her major, agriculture communications.
“I was so used to being around people who know all about agriculture that I was in total shock when I got to UF and found that so many people don’t even know what ag. is,” Jessica said. “The University of Florida is the only land grant college in the state and many of the huge technical advances made in agriculture come from UF’s IFAS program, yet there are people at the school who don’t even know what ag. is!”
Jessica took her passion for educating the public on the importance of Florida agriculture to the Florida Watermelon Association’s annual convention held in Sarasota March 27-29. After being crowned 2007 Newberry Watermelon Queen, Jessica was eligible to run for the state competition, but opted not to last year in favor of running for state FFA office. Jessica said it is a blessing that she did not win, which allowed her to run for Florida Watermelon Queen this year.
At the pageant, Jessica was interviewed by a panel of judges, participated in a video interview, performed in an opening number dance routine, casual and formal wear competitions and speech.
“My speech was on how important it is for the public to know about and support Florida agriculture,” Jessica said.
As Florida’s Watermelon Queen, Jessica will travel throughout the state and also make trips to Washington D.C. for a large barbecue, Canada, New Jersey, and Indiana where she will see a NASCAR race, and Texas where she will be competing in National Watermelon pageant in February.
“I can’t wait!” Jessica said. “I haven’t been to a lot of places. I guess the farthest I’ve been is Washington D.C. with the safety patrol.”
Unlike other pageants, Jessica said being chosen as the Florida Watermelon Queen is based on one’s knowledge of the industry and speaking ability rather than simply a contestant’s outward appearance.
“This is a job,” Jessica said. “I don’t do nakedness, so I’m not interested in any of the Miss America sanctioned pageants, because I don’t want to get in a bathing suit.”
During her tenure, Jessica will be making stops at 20 to 40 elementary schools throughout the state to visit with students, which is a job she says she enjoys. She will also be visiting nursing homes and working to promote the Florida Watermelon Association by stopping by grocery stores and taking part in farm tours throughout the state.
While on a farm tour in Immokalee recently, Jessica said she wore boots with her dress rather than heels. When her coordinator expressed concern over her boots and told Jessica that typically the watermelon queen stays in the truck rather than participating, Jessica said she preferred walking the fields with the group. Concern was also raised when Jessica boarded a swamp buggy later in the day to ride through the woods.
“I convinced the guy driving that we needed to go through a mud hole and of course we got stuck,” Jessica said. “So we ended up walking for about 30 minutes, with me in my boots and dress! I was all sweaty and gross and had two more promotional stops that day.”
When her tenure is up in March, Jessica said she plans to continue being an outspoken advocate for Florida agriculture, hopefully at the state capital where she would like to lobby for Florida farmers.