This is the third installment of Q&A features with Brenda Eubanks Burnette, the 2024 Citrus Achievement Award winner. What was the motivation to revive the Miss Florida Citrus Pageant and what did it take to get the program up and running again? Burnette: LaVoyce Leggett Porter, the 1966 Florida Citrus Queen, asked me if I would be interested in resurrecting …
Memoirs of a Florida Citrus Queen
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 …
PIECES OF THE PAST: An Impactful Citrus Sisterhood
By Brenda Eubanks Burnette It’s amazing to see how impactful the Florida Citrus Queens have been in marketing our crops! From swimming with dolphins to posing on top of the sign for the host hotel of the annual pageant, these women worked overtime to sell Florida citrus. Dick Pope, founder of Cypress Gardens, was a master at using the Florida …
Scheuerer Crowned Miss Florida Citrus
Alana Scheuerer was crowned the 2024 Miss Florida Citrus on March 2 in Winter Haven. She was chosen during the Miss Florida Citrus and Miss Winter Haven Program at Nora Mayo Hall in Winter Haven. The event was the program’s 100th anniversary. Scheuerer, 26, of Coral Springs, has a bachelor’s degree in hospitality management and tourism and a master’s degree …
PIECES OF THE PAST: Celebrating a Special Centennial
By Brenda Eubanks Burnette One hundred years ago, in February of 1924, a young woman named Dorothy Williamson was chosen as Florida’s first Citrus Queen. Since that time, numerous young women have vied for the title and have promoted the Florida citrus industry throughout the world. To celebrate the centennial, the Florida Citrus Hall of Fame has interviewed many of …
PIECES OF THE PAST: The Power of Pictures
By Brenda Eubanks Burnette This year, John Fuller, the new global marketing manager for the Florida Department of Citrus (FDOC), and Matt Joyner, executive vice president/chief executive officer of Florida Citrus Mutual, served on the panel of judges for the Miss Florida Citrus/Miss Winter Haven Competition. It was interesting to introduce them both to this iconic, grassroots promotional program that …
PIECES OF THE PAST: Centennial Celebrations
By Brenda Eubanks Burnette Gap Kovach, formerly head of HESCO, recently sent me a surprise packet of goodies for the Citrus Archives that included citrus labels, the 1986 Miss Florida Citrus program and the Winter Park Public Library 1985 calendar. The calendar was in honor of the library’s centennial celebration and featured numerous Florida citrus crate labels “as a salute …
New Miss Florida Citrus Crowned
Casana Fink of Ocala was crowned the 2023 Miss Florida Citrus Feb. 25 in Winter Haven. She will help promote the Florida citrus industry over the next year. Fink was chosen during the Miss Florida Citrus and Miss Winter Haven Program held at Polk State College. Fink, 24, is a graduate of the University of Florida, where she was a …
Miss Florida Citrus Is Out and About
By Brenda Eubanks Burnette Miss Florida Citrus, Leila Sabet, is continuing to represent the Florida citrus industry at various events, most recently at the Indian River Citrus League’s Treasure Coast Fun Shoot at the Vero Beach Shooting Club. While there, she helped sell raffle tickets, took photos with the competition winners and helped promote Natalie’s Orchid Island citrus products. She …