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Strawberry Royalty Gets ABC's Attention

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By GEORGE H. NEWMAN

gnewman@tampatrib.com

Published: February 25, 2009

PLANT CITY - The Florida Strawberry Festival queen and court have again drawn national attention and will be profiled in an upcoming television spot on ABC.

In 2008, festival queen Kristen Smith and her court members were profiled by The New Yorker magazine. The feature article about the Plant City royalty was written by Anne Hull, a former Plant City resident and Pulitzer Prize-winning staff writer for The Washington Post.

This year, festival queen Lauren Der and court members - first maid Sara Beth Newsome, Megan Cochran, Joclyn Emerson and Morgan Feaster - are being profiled by "Good Morning America's" Saturday feature program in a bimonthly segment, "American Snapshot." The Plant City spot is expected to run in late March or early April.

Queen and court coordinator Sandee Sytsma was notified of the "Good Morning America" interest in late January. The show's producers were inspired by Hull's article this summer in The New Yorker, which took a nostalgic look at the queen's pageant and Plant City, Sytsma said.

"The festival was put in touch with Jennifer Perone, a producer at ABC, and we e-mailed back and forth to set up the visit," Sytsma said.

Sytsma, Der and court first met with Perone over dinner Feb. 16 at the Red Rose Inn and Suites' dining room. The festival picked up the tab, Sytsma said.

"We took that opportunity to let the girls meet with Jennifer so they could get to know one another," Sytsma said. "Before long, they were like old friends."

Perone is in her fifth year as a producer with ABC. She said she soon learned there was more to Plant City than she could ever have imagined.

On Feb. 17, Sytsma and Perone met again with a freelance film crew out of Orlando to tape "points of interest" in Plant City.

"Between 8 and 11 a.m., we taped segments at the strawberry water tower off Wilder Road; a 'Welcome to Plant City' sign on a road coming into town; a crew of workers picking strawberries in a nearby field; Parkesdale Farm Market, where we ate strawberry shortcake; and Sister's & Company to see strawberry jewelry, purses, clothes and other items," Sytsma said.

The crew also paid a visit to the Camellia Rose Tea Room to film its strawberry tablecloths, tea pots and china pieces, and to enjoy its strawberry tea and strawberry scones.

At 11:30 a.m., Sytsma, Perone and the camera crew joined Juju Chang, a New York-based Emmy Award-winning correspondent for ABC News. They spent the rest of the day with Der and her court members to film them in their daily routines.

"Our first stop was at the Plant City High School gym to interview Megan on the volleyball court," Sytsma said. "Megan and Juju actually played a little volleyball while we were there."

From there, they visited Studio3 Salon, where Morgan works as a hairdresser. Then Beef O'Brady's for lunch, where Emerson works part time.

The fourth stop was Newsome's home, where she groomed and walked her steer Lynwood.

The next stop was at Der's home, where the crew checked out her trophies, awards and festival wardrobe, and then went outside to visit with her pet donkey, Leonard, and her horse Radish.

At 6 p.m., the group went to Pec and Dub McGinnes' home for a meal and instructions on manners. The annual event, called "Miss Manners Night," includes tips for the queen and court on how to greet strangers, introduce themselves and others, and shake hands in a ladylike fashion.

Dub McGinnes, who is a festival director, later chauffeured Chung to Bern's Steak House in Tampa where she was to meet with friends. Perone was taken back to Studio3, where she got her hair cut and styled.

Mindy Feaster, Morgan's mother, who is one of the owners of the salon, cut Perone's hair.

"Jennifer was so sweet and down to earth," Feaster said. "She was easygoing, easy to know and a pleasure to be with. She invited us to visit with her in New York."

The crew plans to return during the strawberry festival to get more footage of Der and her court members.

Reporter George H. Newman can be reached at (813) 865-4451.

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