Traditionally, the Minnesota Honey Producers have selected a young woman to represent their organization at public events and at the Minnesota State Fair. The Minnesota Honey Queen would also compete against representatives from other state associations for the title of National Honey Queen.
At the 2019 summer MHPA meeting, our organization took the bold step of transitioning our queen program to an ambassador program. This change was made to support MHPA outreach efforts by allowing us to redefine our scholarship program. The Ambassador Committee (currently Sara Keskey Rufer, Becky Masterman, Bridget Mendel, and Liz Schroeder) has been working out the details of this new initiative.
The MHPA Ambassador position is an opportunity for someone who is enthusiastic about honey bees to promote the beekeeping industry in Minnesota. It is a 15-month position, beginning in June and ending with the close of the Minnesota State Fair. Each Ambassador will be invited to participate in two of the main MHPA activities, the summer meeting, and the Minnesota State Fair Honey Booth. Our ambassador will be able to select and promote an outreach project that will benefit our organization. We envision projects that will address youth honey bee education, bee health, habitat, research, or honey and hive products. In addition to the completion of an outreach project, other ambassador requirements include a minimum age of 18 and attendance at both the MHPA summer meeting and the Minnesota State Fair. The ambassador can be any gender and there is no maximum age limit! However, as with the past queen program, you do need to be passionate about honey bees.
We are thrilled to announce our first MHPA Ambassador, Josh Muñoz. Josh is passionate about agriculture, agriculture education, and working with both urban and rural growers and producers. Josh graduated from the University of Minnesota with a Bachelors in Agriculture Communications & Marketing and a Masters in Agriculture Education. During his University of Minnesota studies, he was introduced to honey bees via the Bee Squad’s Bee Veterans program Josh transitioned out of the Marine Corps in 2014 and has been working with the Bee Squad since 2018 and is currently an instructor in the Bee Veterans program. He now works as an Agricultural Teacher at Como Park Senior High School, where bees play a central role in his curriculum. Selected as the Minnesota Honey Producers Association first Ambassador in 2022, Josh is off to a great start by being chosen as an Educator Advisory Team Member for the Minnesota Ag in the Classroom program. He will serve a 3-year term and play an important role in developing classroom resources for K-12 teachers in Minnesota.
Former MN Honey Queens
- 2017 – Sarah Doroff
- 2012 – Emily Campbell
- 2009 – Alexa Smallwood
- 2008 – Allison (Hull) Anderson
- 2006 – Kelly Tjepkes
- 2001 – Maritina Carlson
- 2000 – Chan da (Bordelon) Hassemer
- 1999 – Angie (Olson) Lundeen
- 1995 – Allyson (Nordwall) Ellingson
- 1993 – Lisa (Terry) Moorhouse
- 1992 – Carolyn Kochis
- 1991 – Jennifer (Grissom) Beckerman
- 1988 – Mary (Mauson) Hodson
- 1986 – Lisa (Smith) Dreyer
- 1985 – Chris (Madson) Warner
- 1984 – Lori Brekke
- 1983 – Jennifer (Riedel) Pauly, Queen
- 1983 – Brenda (Berg) Johnson, Princess
- 1982 – Perian (Norskov) Stavrum
- 1981 – Kari (Olson) Boyce
- 1980 – Mary Rumppe