Originally published in the Aug. 7, 2013, issue
By Dallas Duncan
These days, Carol Anne Mitchell’s wardrobe staples include a sparkling
crown and sash.
That’s because the 22-year-old University of Georgia alumna is the
state’s 2013 Watermelon Queen.
“While the title is ‘Watermelon Queen,’ she’s really a public relations
ambassador,” said Charles Hall, executive director for Georgia WatermelonAssociation. “Just like any other public relations [campaign], we’re trying to
bring focus onto the overall industry and the need for moving the product
forward.”
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| Carol Anne Mitchell was crowned Georgia Waterme- lon Queen at the Georgia Watermelon Convention earlier this year. Photo courtesy Sunny Lee Photography |
Mitchell has attended numerous events as the face of GWA, including a
July Braves game. Her travels so far took her to cities across Georgia,
Newfoundland and Canada.
“They treated me like a celebrity while I was [in Newfoundland],”
Mitchell said. “We went around to four different stores. They had the most
ridiculous watermelon displays. They had a tractor inside the store and
watermelon bins around it and then a poster with my face on it … there were
little girls asking for my autograph.”
Most of the events she attends focus on sharing information about the
crop with consumers. She hands out samples, discusses nutritional benefits and
demonstrates how to pick the perfect watermelon.
The Georgia Watermelon Queen is selected each year at the GWA
convention.
“The selection process is certainly not like a beauty pageant-type
process,” Hall said. “They’re selected based on their ability to communicate
and personality on being able to talk about the industry.”
The association encourages collegiate women to apply for the
weekend-long contest. The grand-prize winner gets a $5,000 scholarship. At the
end of her one-year commitment, she competes against several other states’
queens for the national title, said Samantha Tankersley, GWA promotions
coordinator. Because the demand to have the queen at events is so high, the
first and second runners up get to attend promotions as well. This year, those
are Jennifer Eadie of Sylvester, Ga., and Carla Penney of Vienna, Ga.
Tankersley said consumers know watermelon is a healthy food, but having
Mitchell or one of the contest runners-up at events and grocery stores makes
them pay a little extra attention to the commodity and to the produce section
as a whole.
“It’s just kind of a creative marketing program,” Tankersley said.
“[Consumers] may have a kid with them who gets excited they got a sticker from
the Watermelon Queen and they say, ‘Mom, let’s get a watermelon!’ and then
we’ve sold another watermelon for our industry.”
So far this year when the Watermelon Queen is at events, Tankersley
said stores are reporting a 12 to 15 percent increase in sales from the
previous year.
“Carol Anne really has a passion for the industry. It’s been a part of
her family for a long time, so she understands the weight of the responsibility
she has to essentially represent watermelon growers and their livelihood,”
Tankersley said. “She … has a personality that makes you want to talk to her
for a little bit longer.”
Mitchell continues to learn about the industry she grew up in, and is
excited to share information about watermelons with consumers.
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| Georgia Watermelon Queen Carol Anne Mitchell hands out samples of water- melon at the Georgia Grown Farmers Showcase in Forest Park, Ga., on July 27. Photo by Dallas Duncan |
For example, Mitchell said there are three steps to picking a
watermelon: pick it up, look at it and turn it over.
A heavier watermelon means more water content, which means consumers
will feel fuller longer after eating it, she said. Watermelons should not be
bruised or cut and the underside needs to have a golden belly. The more golden
it is, the riper it is, meaning the meat of the watermelon is sweeter.
“When it’s more sweet it has a redder color on the inside and it has a
larger amount of lycopene, which is good for your heart,” Mitchell said. “It’s
the top product out of fruits and vegetables with lycopene in it.”
Like many Georgians, she said enjoying this healthy summer fruit is a
staple of family events, be it a day at the lake or an Independence Day
grill-out.
“July 4 is the peak for watermelon season, and the price of watermelon
is supposed to go down after that,” Mitchell said. “I think in a typical year
80 percent of the watermelon has been harvested by July 4.”
But good news for watermelon lovers this season – because of the rain,
only 60 percent of the watermelon crop was harvested by July 4.
“You
can still go and eat watermelon through the end of August,” she said.
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