MEET FLORIDA’S 2022 SUGAR QUEEN

CLEWISTON’S PEYTON-GRACE LEE ‘DOING WHAT I LOVE MOST’

Written by: Kathy Ann Gregg

While this central Florida small town may have only four stoplights, Clewiston is the home of U.S. Sugar Corp., and now holder of their 2022 representative, Miss Sugar Peyton-Grace Lee.

This is the third pageant title from Hendry County that this beautiful young lady has held in the past five years. She has attended the Clewiston Christian School since age 3, is currently a sophomore at the high school. And she recently became a 2022 Hendry County Leadership graduate.

According to Lee, it took “tons of convincing” to get her to enter her first pageant, the Little Miss Hendry County event. Hearing “Contestant Number 10, Peyton-Grace Lee” announced as the winner, that sparked it all for her. “I had big dreams with a little mindset,” she says, and on Feb. 14, 2017, her big dream came true.

With that dream came responsibilities, and Lee took them all in stride. She was the first in her family to become involved in the pageantry world, and winning this initial title made her feel unstoppable. Of course, her family helped to keep her grounded, and she continued their traditions of fishing, hog hunting, sitting in the blind or stand, and helping dad Jesse fill feeders on the ranch.

A couple of years went by, and Lee again found herself on stage, this time in the Junior Miss Hendry County event, where for a second time she heard her name announced as the winner. “Another year wearing a beautiful crown, doing what I love most,” she says. “Each reign came with more confidence, determination and striving to keep pushing myself to higher competition.”

Once Lee accepted the crown, her duties began, as shown at right at the annual Clewiston Sugar Festival. She is pictured with childhood friend Bronson Blevins, left, her barn-mate when raising 4-H steers, and Hunter Lee (no relation), on the right.

When contemplating whether to enter the Miss Sugar event, Lee was given words of wisdom from her mother, Russhelle: “Hard work pays off, you get out of it what you put into it.”

So, with the full support of her parents, sister Channcy and brother Randy, she used her confidence and determination to capture the hearts—and votes—of the judges and the audience for this most recent title.

Since being crowned in February, Lee helped judge the first Miss Soda Pop Festival Princess in Sebring, Florida. She has toured local cane fields on Engine No. 148, fondly called the “Sugar Express.”

Lee is grateful to have the opportunity to represent all that U.S. Sugar Corp. stands for, saying: “Seeing in real perspective just how hard their employees work is extremely eye-opening—2,500 workers in my community, including growers and their families, dedicated to feeding families across the country. U.S. Sugar is very involved in my community. Year after year they purchase hogs and steers from youth involved in our Hendry County Livestock Fair. They support our youth and give us endless opportunities to better our future.”

U.S. Sugar is a privately owned agriculture business farming more than 230,000 acres in Hendry, Glades, Martin and Palm Beach counties. It is the largest producer of sugar cane in the United States by volume, producing more than 700,000 tons per year.

Along with her crown and sash, as well as the yearlong title, Lee was awarded a $5,000 scholarship, which she plans to use to become a medical diagnostic sonographer. FCM