Emerald Greene Parsons
ECB Publishing, Inc.
Jefferson County residents gathered Saturday evening, June 4, at the old JCHS Auditorium to watch the very popular and much-loved Miss Watermelon Queen pageant.
The audience watched as five young ladies vied for the coveted title of Miss Watermelon Queen and eight young ladies competed for the title of Junior Miss Watermelon Queen.
The evening began with an opening number dance production to the song “Summertime” and then each contestant took their turn in the spotlight while presenting their two to four minute on-stage talent/personal showcase. The final on-stage performance was the elegant evening gown portion of the pageant, along with the personal on-stage question. (The judged events of the promotional video and judge’s interview were held earlier in the day, on Saturday.)
While a good portion of their scoring depended on how each contestant performed during the pageant, they were also scored in other areas, the first being a promotional video of Jefferson County that each contestant submitted prior to the pageant itself. For each video, contestants were to give highlights about living in Jefferson County and also offered details about how they were looking forward to spending their summer, in keeping with the theme of the Watermelon Festival concept for this year. Another area of judging was how each contestant presented herself during a tea and interview session hosted by the Jefferson County Historical Association at the Wirick-Simmons House. The tea and interviews were held with the judges, a few hours prior to the pageant. The judges also viewed and judged the promotional videos before the beginning of the pageant.
This year’s Watermelon Pageant was co-directed by Teri Naylor and Roslyn Bass, emceed by Roslyn Bass and Olivia Walton, and Richard Watt was the special guest providing the on-stage interview questions.
At the end of the night, Jefferson County found itself with two new wonderful queens to represent the county for 2022.
Amelia Grace Lovett was chosen to reign as the 2022 Miss Watermelon Queen for the upcoming year. She also won the award for Promotional Video, the award for Talent and the award for Best Evening Gown.
The 2022 Miss Watermelon first runner-up was awarded to Haley Paul.
The Miss Watermelon second-runner-up was awarded to Haylie Grace McLeod.
Miss Congeniality was awarded to Riley Hamrick.
In the Junior Miss division: Lauren Davis was named the new 2022 Junior Miss Watermelon Queen and was awarded the Best Promotional Video award.
The Junior Miss first runner-up was Liberty Paul. Liberty was also chosen as the winner of the Best Evening Gown award.
The Junior Miss second runner-up was Angela Williams.
The Junior Miss third runner-up was Kiley Donaldson. Kiley was also awarded Miss Congeniality.
The best Personal Showcase/Talent award was presented to Linda Long.
This year’s royalty can be seen for the next year during the local parades, ribbon cuttings, and events supporting our great Jefferson County.
This year’s Jefferson County Watermelon Pageants were sponsored by Florida Power and Light/Gulf Power.
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