She will represent Jersey breeders for the next year with her participation in events such as the Annual Meeting of the American Jersey Cattle Association, World Dairy Expo and The 59th All American Jersey Shows & Sales

The National Jersey Queen contest lasted two days with seven young women from across the country competing for the coveted crown. Participants had to pass a general dairy knowledge test, were interviewed by a panel of judges, and prepared a two-minute video presentation that demonstrated their ability to represent the Jersey breed through public speaking.

The daughter of Jim and Amelia Sweeney, Visalia, Calif., Lena attends Stanford University where she is studying biology and Spanish. Her goal is to eventually attend medical school with a focus on pediatrics.

The first alternate National Jersey Queen for 2010 was Tera Koebel, daughter of Terry and Jennie Koebel from Three Oaks, Mich. Tera attends Michigan State University where she serves on the Student Senate of the College of Agriculture and Natural Resources. 2010 was a year of great success in the show ring for Tera, with her 4-year-old cow Gadget Jade of Edgebrook being named Premier Performance Cow of both the All American open and junior shows.

Selected as second alternate Queen was Amber Ettinger, the daughter of Ed and Cheryl Ettinger of Kinards, S.C. She is a student at Virginia Tech, majoring in dairy science. Upon graduation, Amber hopes to continue to promote the Jersey breed and take over her family’s 150-cow Registered Jersey™ herd. She has received numerous awards in the National Youth Production and Achievement Contests, plus the Pot O’Gold production contest. Amber was also the 2009 Reuben R. Cowles Youth Award Scholarship winner.

Lena, Tera and Amber presented awards for the National Jersey Jug Futurity and The 58th All American Jersey Show, plus assisted with the clerking of The All American Jersey Sale.