Friday, September 13, 2024
GREEN BAY – While summer may slowly be coming to a close, perennial flowers and fall crops are just beginning their journey.
Their ability to bloom is largely in part due to one pollinator, the bee.
Hailing from northeast Wisconsin, the “2024 Honey Queen” Kaelyn Sumner has been spreading awareness and education about honey bees across the state and the country.
Kaelyn Sumner discovered her passion for honey bees at Pulaski Middle School, where she joined the Future Farmers of America (FFA) as a way to spend time with friends outside of school.
Her simple pastime grew out of a personal challenge — finding a project her FFA advisor had never seen before in his 30 years of teaching.
This is how Sumner developed her interest in beekeeping.
She began the project with eight hives at her childhood home in Cecil, and would later house 20 hives.
During this time she “fell in love with beekeeping,” and found another source of inspiration.
In 2018, Sumner met Hannah Sjostrom, then the current Wisconsin Queen and later American Honey Queen.
Kaelyn shared that it was “really inspiring to see another young woman in beekeeping,” and this would drive her to later apply for the role of Honey Queen.
The Wisconsin Honey Queen application was an arduous task, Sumner filled out the job application and went through three days of interviews, including blind interviews.
However, the process was all worth it as Kaelyn was crowned 2023 Wisconsin Honey Queen.
She enjoyed her time touring schools and events around the state that she went through another similar application process to reach the highest level, becoming the 2024 American Honey Queen.
As American Honey Queen Kaelyn Sumner has spent her summer visiting schools, civic groups and a variety of state and county fairs speaking about the impact that honeybees have on our daily lives.
So far, she has been to New Jersey, Iowa and Illinois, but is preparing for traveling to Kentucky and Nebraska.
Thankfully Sumner enjoys all of the traveling, remarking that it is one of her favorite parts and allows her to see a variety of beekeeping styles in different regions of the country.
It has also allowed her to meet many interested students and adults who share her intrigue.
In addition to being the Honey Queen, Kaelyn is also at Kansas State University where she is studying agriculture education, food science and entomology.
While she is taking a gap year to focus on spreading pollinator awareness, she is also involved with Alpha of Clovia and is a FFA judge through the Agricultural Education club.
Overall, American Honey Queen Kaelyn Sumner hopes that she can provide education and awareness about honeybees, pollinators and FFA to people across America, especially young girls.
She welcomes girls into agriculture, reminding them “No is not an answer, it is only a challenge to go further.”
Kaelyn Sumner’s journey as 2024 American Honey Queen can be followed on Facebook and Instagram at American Honey Queen Program, YouTube at American Honey Queen and the blog www.buzzingacrossamerica.com.
