| Florida Citrus Hall of Fame’s 2013 Fellowship Students help preserve significant industry artifacts and more |
John Jackson, chairman of the Florida Citrus Hall of Fame, which honors distinguished leaders who have made significant contributions to Florida’s citrus industry, announced that the nonprofit organization’s three new Hall of Fame Fellowship Students would be helping preserve, maintain, and digitize citrus memorabilia to help preservation efforts of the Florida Citrus Archives located at Florida Southern College (FSC). [emember_protected custom_msg=”Click here and register now to read the rest of the article!”]
“We have been given the opportunity to archive several significant historical collections,” explains Jackson, “including not only citrus labels from notable collectors such as Jim Ellis and Jerry Chicone, but also photographic records from the Florida Department of Citrus and oral histories with notable industry pioneers.”
All of the items will eventually be cataloged and available as an online resource through the Florida Citrus Hall of Fame website, along with a collection of production and processing artifacts offered to create three-dimensional displays for educational purposes with schools, civic organizations, and museums.
Two of the Florida Citrus Hall of Fame’s 2013 Fellowship Students are:
Frank L. Bouis Fellowship – Audrey McCranie
Audrey McCranie was born in Bartow, Florida, to Jeffrey and Phyllis McCranie. She was raised and has spent her whole life in Lakeland. She graduated from Lakeland Senior High School in 2009 and is now a senior at Florida Southern College where she is an Art History major — she is due to graduate in 2013. After graduation, she intends on either attending graduate school to pursue a Master’s degree or entering the workforce while working on various certifications within her discipline.
In addition to working in the Citrus Hall of Fame, she is also an intern at Arts on the Park, an art gallery located in downtown Lakeland; a front desk attendant at the Hollis Wellness Center at Florida Southern, senior art editor for the Florida Southern Cantilevers arts and literature magazine, and a youth leader and musician at her church.
This is her second semester working as a fellow in the Citrus Hall of Fame and she is senior lead for this year’s crew. Her grandfather, Ralph Quillin, was an employee with the USDA where he worked extensively with citrus in the Lake Alfred area.
D. Victor Knight Fellowship – Trudy Weber
Trudy Weber was born in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, has previously lived in Connecticut, and now resides in Port Orange, Florida, with her parents and two sisters — she is a triplet. She attended the Advanced Placement program at Spruce Creek High School where she graduated summa cum laude. She was dual-enrolled at that time at Daytona State College where she was recognized on the President’s list. She is currently a sophomore majoring in Psychology.
Trudy is a member and parliamentarian of the Alpha Chi Omega sorority Beta Omicron chapter. She has volunteered in her community through the Rotary Club of Port Orange South Daytona and she is also a Paul Harris Fellow. Trudy has traveled throughout the United States and Europe. She is looking forward to using her travels and experiences to provide a unique perspective in her future endeavors. This is her first semester working with the Florida Citrus Hall of Fame.
To read more about another fellowship student, Jacob Crouch, go to https://centralfloridaagnews.com/?s=crouch.
About the Student Fellowship Program
The Florida Citrus Hall of Fame’s annual Student Fellowship program started in 2009 and since its inception, FSC students have helped scan, digitize and catalog over 1,300 citrus labels and hundreds of photographic images of the citrus industry; interview, videotape, and transcribe almost 20 oral history presentations with industry pioneers; as well as take in and catalog numerous citrus artifacts such as a fruit knife and reamer collection from Dr. Larry Jackson, and marketing memorabilia from the Florida Department of Citrus. In addition, past fellowship students created the Florida Citrus Hall of Fame website, www.FloridaCitrusHallofFame.com, which is currently being upgraded to enable the addition of the Hall of Fame inductee video presentations and the oral history projects.
The Citrus Hall of Fame’s fellowship program is for undergraduate and graduate students with top grades and an interest in media, history, library sciences and/or preservation. Although knowledge of the citrus industry is helpful, it is not required. The program is focused on the Florida citrus industry and on preserving valuable information, artifacts, and memorabilia before they are lost or totally destroyed. Mentored by top-level professionals and decision-makers, interns are involved in hands-on preservation projects and educational activities under the direction of FSC archivist, LuAnn Mims, in the McKay Archives Center. The Oral History Project is under the direction of Dr. Michael Denham, professor of History at FSC, director of Lawton Chiles Jr. Center of Florida History.
“The purpose of this career-enhancing program is to save the history of Florida’s number one agricultural entity while exposing students to agriculture from a unique, historical perspective,” adds Jackson. “Our objective is to have our fellowship students leave our program with a greater understanding of the true value and impact that the citrus industry has made on Florida history.”
About the Florida Citrus Hall of Fame
Based in Lakeland, the Florida Citrus Hall of Fame was established in 1962 to pay tribute to those who have made significant contributions to the Florida citrus industry. A committee representing various facets of the industry and all production regions of the state selects deserving recipients who are inducted each March at an annual luncheon ceremony held at Florida Southern College and co-sponsored by Florida Citrus Mutual and the Florida Department of Citrus. A permanent endowment fund was established in 2009 for future Citrus Hall of Fame projects, the Hall of Fame Student Fellowship Program and to maintain the display and web site in perpetuity.
To be added to the mailing list, to donate artifacts/memorabilia to the Florida Citrus Hall of Fame and the Florida Citrus Archives, or for more information about the Florida Citrus Hall of Fame, please contact Brenda Eubanks Burnette, Executive Director for the Florida Citrus Hall of Fame, at (561) 351-4314 or BBurne1003@aol.com or visit www.FloridaCitrusHallofFame.com.
CREDITS
story by BRENDA EUBANKS BURNETTE
photos courtesy of the Florida Citrus Hall of Fame
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