In the top row are Myrah Bullock, Addison McKnight, Kaitlyn Putman, Emily teRiele, Kenzie Philips, Gwenyth Decker. In the bottom row are Rose Smith, Sofia Perry, Kalyn Bullock, Samantha Kulp, Ava Fitzgerald, Bailey Phillips, Alaina Richards. Submitted Photo.

WADDINGTON – The St. Lawrence County Dairy Promotion Group crowned its first Princess since the group voted to return to a royalty-based unisex program, on June 11 in Waddington. 

SLC Dairy Promotion has stepped away from the American Dairy Association North East and resumed the dairy royalty program after surveying the local community and dairy farmers. 

Last year, the American Dairy Association North East board, which administers the New York State Dairy Ambassador Program, adopted changes to make the program gender-neutral. After trying the new ambassador program for the past year, the SLC Dairy Program committee returned to the Dairy Princess format. Joining Lewis, Washington, and Tompkins counties in the decision.

“Last year was heartbreaking to watch the young people in our court be overlooked so many times. Without the sash and crown, they continuously were being passed over, the magic was lost. By bringing back the Royal title, we feel, as does our community, that this speaks more to the importance and impact of being at a local level, of capturing the attention, and hearts of our young children,” said Julie Parkman, co-chair of the Promotion Committee. “The crown serves for more than just grabbing attention, it can also be a huge confidence booster for our court members, and in this age demographic this is crucial for career and leadership development.” 

Emily teRiele, of Canton, will serve as the 2023-24 SLC Dairy Princess. Alongside her, Kaitlyn Putman, of Madrid, will serve as Alternate Princess. The new court consists of 14 members of ages 9-23.

“I decided to run to see the kid's faces light up when they see a ‘princess’ and share with them something that I love and that helped shape me into the person I am today. There is nothing better than seeing that spark in a person’s eye, especially the younger ones that are doing this with me when they talk about something that they love, and it allows us to teach them skills that they may not otherwise gain until later in life,” teRiele stated. “We teach the youth in our program how to advocate what is important to them while still making it fun and giving them the support and love they need to continuously grow and evolve into wonderful young adults.” 

The 2023-24 Ambassadors include Myrah Bullock of Edwards, Sofia Perry of Canton, Addison McKnight of Chase Mills, Kenzie Phillips of Heuvelton, and Natalie teRiele of Canton. 

Promoters include Kalyn Bullock of Edwards, Gwenyth Decker of Winthrop, Ava Fitzgerald of Rensselaer Falls, Samantha Kulp of DeKalb, Bailey Phillips of Heuvelton, Alaina Richards of Lisbon, and Rose Smith of Canton.

The new court will be on hand at the St. Lawrence County Fair in Gouverneur from August 1-6.