Corner Brook -
Maggie Bailey knows a lot about watermelon and she's only too happy to share what she's learned.
The aspiring elementary school teacher and Vincennes, Ind. native was crowned Miss Watermelon Queen 2009. She represented Indiana and Illinois at the scholarship competition after winning the title for those states in 2008.
"It is a paid position," Bailey said. "Ultimately it is my job. While I do get a scholarship, I'm travelling and working to promote the nutritional and economic benefits of watermelon, I am getting paid. It's a great opportunity for young women."
So far it's taken her all over the United States and this is her first trip to Canada. She'll get to Japan before her reign is over.
Her home town in Knox County, Ind. is watermelon country.
Her family isn't in the watermelon business, but the community is. She had summer jobs turning the vines, picking the watermelons and loading them into trucks.
The 21-year-old didn't have to eat the most watermelon or spit the seeds farthest to win her crown.
While there was an evening gown competition, mostly for fun, there was tough process she had to follow.
"The biggest percentage of it is definitely the interview, because it is an interview for a job, just like if I was going to get a job as a teacher, I would be interviewed," she said.
"We're required to give a timed speech to qualify ourselves on why we think we would be the best representatives of the National Watermelon Association. There are such things that would be in a normal pageant such as evening gowns, and we would model promotion-wear, which is what we would wear for promotions, but that's more for the entertainment of the audience. It's the more lighthearted part of it."
Bailey is studying elementary education at Indiana State University at Terre Haute where the $2,000 scholarship associated with the title will come in handy.
The growers and shippers sponsor her travel to let people know the benefits of watermelon.
"It's a great value," she said. "Nutritionally it's high in Vitamin A, B6 and C. It's the leader in fresh produce of lycopene, so it helps in cancer and heart disease prevention. It increases blood circulation and blood flow. It's very heart healthy."
