Congress designates July National Watermelon Month
Congress designates July National Watermelon Month
Months of hard work and negotiations by the National Watermelon Association have proven fruitful, as both houses of Congress passed resolutions naming July National Watermelon Month.
"It is my pleasure to share with you the great news that National Watermelon Month is now officially complete through the vote taken by the U.S. House of Representatives earlier this week," Bob Morrissey, the association's executive director, said in a statement. "This has been a nine-month effort working with over 56 House representatives, and is very worthwhile for our watermelon industry."
Mr. Morrissey said in the statement that "the vital key to this particular resolution is that it does not denote one particular year as the U.S. Senate resolution did in 2007. The House has a different set of rules than the Senate, which allowed us to make the resolution last for many years to come without having to go back to Congress year after year. This will allow all of us to pursue and promote National Watermelon Month in various ways, and utilize the designation to promote watermelon with the tag National Watermelon Month in numerous methods - point-of-sale, advertisements, in store signage, bins, etc."
He told The Produce News that the association is also working to get a presidential resolution passed, although due to the difficulty in obtaining one, it is now looking at getting something like a commemoration or a note of congratulations.
"I'll get something out of the president, though we really don't need it because what the House did worked perfectly for us," he said, adding that he believes this was one of the first crops that received this designation from Congress in "many, many years.
"The opportunities are just huge," he added, noting that several of the association's chapters are planning major events and promotions around the new designation for later this year.
Mr. Morrissey said that he is in talks with retailers, including Wal-Mart, about special in-store promotions, and he expected Wal-Mart to conduct promotions in 300 to 500 of its stores.
"They will be getting behind it big time," he said.
After a difficult 2007 due to a glut of watermelons, Mr. Morrissey told The Produce News that "the month of July is so critical for us because historically it is our largest supply month and historically it is the month where our industry receives the lowest price. Even though the demand is pretty good and slightly growing year after year, it's very difficult to get that demand to increase substantially so we can maintain a decent price for the farmers. It is a major opportunity for us to increase the promotions, events and excitement surrounding watermelon in that month and the few weeks prior and after so we can increase the demand and balance the scales a little bit, which will benefit the farmers with a greater return. That's the ultimate goal, and that's what we are here for -- for the farmers to get a positive return on their investments."
"It is my pleasure to share with you the great news that National Watermelon Month is now officially complete through the vote taken by the U.S. House of Representatives earlier this week," Bob Morrissey, the association's executive director, said in a statement. "This has been a nine-month effort working with over 56 House representatives, and is very worthwhile for our watermelon industry."
Mr. Morrissey said in the statement that "the vital key to this particular resolution is that it does not denote one particular year as the U.S. Senate resolution did in 2007. The House has a different set of rules than the Senate, which allowed us to make the resolution last for many years to come without having to go back to Congress year after year. This will allow all of us to pursue and promote National Watermelon Month in various ways, and utilize the designation to promote watermelon with the tag National Watermelon Month in numerous methods - point-of-sale, advertisements, in store signage, bins, etc."
He told The Produce News that the association is also working to get a presidential resolution passed, although due to the difficulty in obtaining one, it is now looking at getting something like a commemoration or a note of congratulations.
"I'll get something out of the president, though we really don't need it because what the House did worked perfectly for us," he said, adding that he believes this was one of the first crops that received this designation from Congress in "many, many years.
"The opportunities are just huge," he added, noting that several of the association's chapters are planning major events and promotions around the new designation for later this year.
Mr. Morrissey said that he is in talks with retailers, including Wal-Mart, about special in-store promotions, and he expected Wal-Mart to conduct promotions in 300 to 500 of its stores.
"They will be getting behind it big time," he said.
After a difficult 2007 due to a glut of watermelons, Mr. Morrissey told The Produce News that "the month of July is so critical for us because historically it is our largest supply month and historically it is the month where our industry receives the lowest price. Even though the demand is pretty good and slightly growing year after year, it's very difficult to get that demand to increase substantially so we can maintain a decent price for the farmers. It is a major opportunity for us to increase the promotions, events and excitement surrounding watermelon in that month and the few weeks prior and after so we can increase the demand and balance the scales a little bit, which will benefit the farmers with a greater return. That's the ultimate goal, and that's what we are here for -- for the farmers to get a positive return on their investments."
