Miss Florida Citrus 2022 Steps up to Claim Her Crown
Another chapter to the storied history of the Miss Florida Citrus program has been added with the recent crowning of Payton Barrington. She was crowned during the Miss America preliminary pageant held at Polk State College’s Fine Arts Theatre in Winter Haven. Also part of the program, Jada Carter took the title of Miss Winter Haven 2022.
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Hosted by the recent titleholders Leila Sabet (Miss Florida Citrus 2020) and Cassidy Goldman (Miss Winter Haven 2020), pageant contestants were judged on their personal interview, social impact initiative and on-stage question, talent, and red carpet attire. More than $3,000 in cash and prizes awarded to the top five finalists.
Barrington, of Orlando, is a 2019 Magna Cum Laude graduate of the University of South Florida where she received a Bachelor of Science in Nursing. She was one of the first RNs to launch the first COVID-19 floor at Advent Health East Orlando where she is currently working in the Intensive Care Unit.
Her social impact initiative is “Save a H.E.A.R.T.,” a platform she founded to educate others on how to live long heart healthy lives. The program focuses on five points through the acronym H.E.A.R.T.: Healthy eating, Education, Activity, Reduce stress, and Take action.
Carter is a 19-year-old student at the Florida Agricultural & Mechanical University where she is pursuing a Bachelor of Science degree in Computer Science (2023).
She hopes to pursue a career in software development at Pixar and is a member of the Association for Computing Machinery’s Council on Women in Computing (ACM-W), the National Council of Negro Women, and is a candidate for the Kappa Iota chapter of Alpha Kappa Mu Honor Society. Her social impact initiative is “#GetEngaged – Girls Committing to STEM,” to encourage and bring awareness to the vast number of opportunities available to girls in the field of STEM.
“I’m excited to have two such talented titleholders and look forward to working with them over the next year,” says Brenda Eubanks Burnette, Executive Director of the Florida Citrus Hall of Fame and former Florida Citrus Queen. “Payton’s singing will certainly be used to open numerous industry meetings with the National Anthem, so I hope to have many appearance requests for her.”
The Florida Citrus Queen Pageant began in 1924 and has been part of the Miss America organization off and on throughout the years, with the name changing to Miss Florida Citrus in 1984. Over the years, the representatives have traveled throughout the world promoting the Florida citrus industry. Miss Winter Haven was added to the program in 2018.
Both titleholders will go on to compete in the Miss Florida pageant, which is scheduled to take place in Lakeland on June 25, 2022. The winner of which will compete in the Miss America pageant.
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