This is the second installment of Q&A features with Brenda Eubanks Burnette, the 2024 Citrus Achievement Award winner. Burnette’s citrus career began in 1981 when she won the Florida Citrus Queen Pageant.
Outside of winning, do you have a favorite memory or two surrounding the pageant?
BURNETTE: At that time, the Florida Citrus Queen received a car to use for the year. That year it was either a blue Trans Am or Firebird, with the title “1981 Florida Citrus Queen” written on the sides of the car. I remember how excited I was to get a car like that. It even had a CB radio in it like “Smokey and the Bandit,” which had just been out in theaters! Unfortunately, I ended up putting so many miles on it doing appearances that the dealership replaced it with a different car midway through my year, which was very disappointing. But, hey, it was still a free car for a year, and I greatly appreciated that perk!
I also had a cold the night of the pageant, and I remember hoping that my nose and eyes didn’t run while I was on stage! That’s not really a favorite memory, but my parents looked better than I did in the photos from that night.
Other than those two memories, things about the pageant itself are a bit fuzzy for me. I think I was just so relieved to have won because I had been let go from my job at WSIR Radio when my boss found out I had entered the pageant. He didn’t want to be left in the lurch for a salesperson if I won, since I would have had to quit to travel for the year. So, in the end, everything worked out well for both of us!
Special thanks to TJ BioTech for sponsoring the Citrus Achievement Award program.
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