by Shirley Acevedo

Dear Texas Beekeepers,
     As Texas Honey Queen Program Chairperson and with much regret, I inform you that our 2009 Texas Honey Queen, Nicole Pettibon, was not selected as 2010 American Honey Queen or Princess at the recent North American Beekeeping Conference in Orlando, Florida. I will say Nicole represented Texas beekeepers impeccably well and looked beautiful throughout the 5-day event. Thank you, Nicole! You did an outstanding job!
     Nicole’s trip to Orlando began on Tuesday, January 12, with a 6 am flight out of Dubuque, Iowa, where she attends Emmaus Bible College. First thing on Nicole’s agenda at the Conference was a 2 pm meeting with the five other state honey queens who were competing for the titles. The other lovely young women were from Indiana, Iowa, Minnesota, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin.
     Tuesday evening was a reception, and the Honey Queens were in full swing, meeting attendees and selling quilt raffle tickets (proceeds benefiting the American Honey Queen Program). Thank you, numerous Texas beekeepers, who purchased tickets from Nicole prior to and during the Convention!
     On Wednesday morning at the opening session, Nicole had the opportunity to introduce herself, mentioning her own hives and how much she likes beekeepers! Wednesday evening was the Auction and Quiz Bowl, and the winning team was the “Sweet Stingers” (Nicole Pettibon of Texas; Alexa Sorenson of Minnesota and Shiliah Spaulding of Iowa).
     Thursday morning was the Ladies Auxiliary Breakfast with 3-minute marketing resentations by each of the state honey queens. Nicole presented herself as Reverend Langstroth’s daughter, Harriet in period clothing, touting Italian bees and the bee space in hives with removable frames. The setting was Langstroth’s sale of bee equipment at a county fair in 1863.
     By noon on Friday, the six state honey queens had  sold the 2000 quilt raffle tickets @ $5.00! On Saturday morning, each of the contestants were interviewed by the three judges, who had remained incognito throughout the Conference. Saturday afternoon was the Annual Kids and Bees event at the Orlando Public Library and headed by Kim Lehman of Austin, TX. Saturday evening was the Banquet, Auction and the Coronation. 
     Miss Congenialty was voted upon by the six queen contestants themselves, and they chose Maya Althouse of Pennsylvania. A Runner-Up was selected by the judges, in the unlikely event the Queen or Princess could not complete her reign, and she is Maya Althouse of Pennsylvania. The 2010 American Honey Princess was named - Amy Roden of Wisconsin. The 2010 American Honey Queen was named - Lisa Schluttenhofer of Indiana.
     There was tears of joy and tears of sadness. The Honey Queens and other beekeepers came away feeling grateful for the memorable experiences, the newly-made and renewed friendships, and the invaluable learning that took place at the 2010 North American Beekeeping Conference in Orlando, Florida. It was a great event!
     Thank you, dear Texas beekeepers, for your unrelenting support of the Texas Honey Queen Program! 
     Our 2010 Texas Honey Queen, Allison Adams, attended the Florida Conference also. As a visiting state honey queen, Allison was able to get acquainted with the people and events of the National Convention, helping her to become a possible strong candidate for the 2011 American Honey Queen/Princess program. Our 2008 American Honey Queen, Rachael Seida of Texas also attended the Conference, along with numerous other Texas beekeepers.
     I look forward to hearing from you to schedule Allison’s visit to your beekeeping club meeting and events. I look forward to seeing you at the Janice and John G. Thomas ‘59 Honey Bee Facility in Bryan, TX, on Saturday, February 20! Do put on your calendar the American Beekeeping Federation/American Honey Producers Association event in Galveston, TX, at the San Luis Resort and Conference Center, January 4 – 8, 2011! I’ll see you there!
Appreciating you!