When you think watermelon, think Gilbert Miller

Hello, I’m Amanda McNulty with Clemson Extension and Making It Grow. Here’s a shout-out to a fellow Extension friend, whom you should thank every time you eat watermelon, Gilbert Miller of Clemson’s Edisto Research and Education Center. Gilbert, who's just retired, has won national awards, and yet doesn’t have a pretentious bone in his body. Although having a doctorate degree, he wears big sun hats, a watermelon-themed shirt, and has a pack of gum in his pocket on important official occasions, like Watermelon Field Day. Even though he’s in research that includes soil health, genetics, and sustainable irrigation, everything he does is for the farmers’ benefit; they call him on the phone. And he helps at the Watermelon Queen pageants so they can be better ambassadors for that fruit.