The excitement is building in Minnesota – the new Princess Kay of the Milky Way will be named next Wednesday evening, August 22. This year’s winner will be the 54th Princess Kay of the Milky Way, taking over the duties of teh reigning Princess Kay Audrey Mohr of New Ulm.
More than 60 county dairy princesses participated in judging in May, which took place along with a dairy promotion training event for all county princesses. Each year, more than 100 young women from across Minnesota are crowned county dairy princesses, and 12 are selected as finalists to become Princess Kay. Each of the 12 finalists will have her likeness carved in butter during the fair.
Dairy princesses are selected on the basis of their communication skills, personality, general knowledge of the dairy industry and its products, and their commitment to dairy promotion. The program gives many young women the opportunity to represent the lifestyle in which they were raised. Dairy princesses serve as spokespeople to consumers, conduct media interviews, make classroom visits to educate students about the dairy industry, give speeches to various organizations and make public appearances at promotions or events.
The 12 finalists for the title of 2007-2008 Princess Kay of the Milky Way are:
Amanda Alberg, 21, East Ottertail County, daughter of Allen and Deborah Alberg of Henning;
Amy Esselman, 19, Carver County, daughter of Jeff and Cindy Lenzen of Hamburg;
Londa Johnson, 19, Houston County, daughter of Richard and Linda Johnson of LaCrescent;
Caitlin Kasper, 18, Steele County, daughter of Peter and Karen Kasper of Owatonna;
Megan Mathews, 20, McLeod County, daughter of Kevin and Tammy Mathews of Glencoe;
Ann Miron, 19, Washington County, daughter of Fran and Mary Ann Miron of Hugo;
Molly Neil, 19, Dakota County, daughter of Garry Neil and Kathy Neil of Randolph;
Kelly Riemenschneider, 19, McLeod County, daughter of Terry and Marian Riemenschneider of Glencoe;
Megan Roller, 19, East Ottertail County, daughter of Gene and Brenda Roller of Hewitt;
Heidi Scapanski, 19, Benton County, daughter of John and Cheryl Scapanski of Sauk Rapids;
Erica Seitzer, 19, Nicollet County, daughter of Jerry and Carol Seitzer of St. Peter; and
Jill Warren, 19, Meeker County, daughter of John and Carol Warren of Watkins.