New York State Dairy Princess History

 

The history of the New York State Dairy Princess program dates back to August 28, 1963, when Nancy Harrington-Hicks was chosen from among approximately 15 other county princesses to be crowned the "pioneer" state princess.

 

Although there was no special banquet at the first coronation, which was held at the State Exposition Grounds, there were some unusual extra benefits for the first New York State Dairy Princess. For instance, Nancy spent two weeks after the crowning at Elizabeth Brown's School for Modeling and Charm Lessons. Nancy was also the first of nine New York State Dairy Princesses to attend the National Contest where the "American Dairy Princess" was selected, before that pageant was discontinued in 1972.

 

Prior to 1968, the requirements for being considered a dairy princess candidate were to be a high school graduate and fathers of candidates had to accrue at least 75% of their earnings from a dairy farm. Today the requirements have extended to include young women whose parents derive a "major portion" of their income from dairy farming. The candidate now has to be a junior in high school but not more than 24 years old and can also be the daughter of a dairy farmer or someone employed full-time in a dairy-related industry. This afforded more young women the opportunity to represent the dairy industry. In addition to the above, dairy princess candidates must also possess the knowledge, poise and speaking ability necessary to carry out their duties throughout the Empire State.

 

Since 1963, County Promotion Committees have been functioning in counties throughout New York State. The major role of the committees is to assist in increasing dairy promotion program activities at the local level and serve as resource personnel. In 1971, the County Incentive Award Program was initiated with the objective to encourage the local princesses to take part in a wider variety of promotional activities. Each princess and her court are asked to complete a specified number and type of consumer-oriented activities to qualify for a monetary award. This was done in an effort to complement one of the goals of the American Dairy Association and Dairy Council, Inc. - to find more effective ways to increase milk consumption.

 

So although the New York State Dairy Princess Program has undergone extensive changes since its inauguration 46 years ago, today dairy princesses are still top spokeswomen for the dairy industry.

 

 

History provided by:

American Dairy Association and Dairy Council, Inc. (ADADC, Inc.)

219 S. West Street, Suite 100

Syracuse, NY 13202

tel: (315) 472-9143

website: www.adadc.com