S.C. Watermelon Association meeting sets marketing plan, crowns queen
S.C. Watermelon Association meeting sets marketing plan, crowns queen
COLUMBIA, SC — The South Carolina Watermelon Association's annual meeting here set a marketing plan for 2015, crowned a queen, heard research reports on grafting and other topics, reviewed culinary trends, set an increased effort to brand watermelon as a sports enhancer and raised $233,000 for its operations in the year ahead.
Scottie Sandifer of Sandifer Farms, Angela Chappell of Coosaw Farms and Matt Cornwell of the South Carolina Department of Agriculture.
About 150 watermelon growers and suppliers attended the Jan. 16-18 meeting, about the same as last year, according to Matt Cornwell, marketing specialist for the South Carolina Department of Agriculture, who also serves as executive director of the association. Angela O’Neal Chappell of Coosaw Farms in Fairfax, SC, presided over the meeting as president of the association and received a plaque honoring her leadership over the past year.
South Carolina Agriculture Commissioner Hugh Weathers crowned Sydney Ford of Gaffney, SC, as the 2015 South Carolina Watermelon Queen. The new queen succeeds Brooke Allender of Duncan, SC, who recounted a dizzying array of promotional events she participated in during the last year, describing it as “the experience of a lifetime.” The 2015 queen is a public relations major at the University of South Carolina and serves as a legislative page in the South Carolina State Legislature.