Lebanon County Dairy Princesses travel to farms, fields and more

Since their reigns began in June, Lebanon County Dairy Princess Evelyn Trowman and Alternate Dairy Princess Mackenzie Thomas have promoted dairy and the industry in the county.

Milk Royalty averages three promotions per day.

While Trowman and Thomas both wore crowns, they entered the dairy industry in different ways.

“I am a seventh generation Trowman living on my family’s dairy farm. So, I grew up on our family dairy farm,” said Trowman, a native of Lebanon County. “Farming is very much my passion. It’s what I’ve been doing all my life and what I’ll be doing after high school.”

Trowman comes from generations of dairy farmers. And Thomas works part-time on a dairy farm.

“Dairy farming really brought out the best,” said Thomas, a Lebanon County native. “I know it sounds cliché, but it’s every day, you wake up really early, and it demands everything. Cows don’t take a day off. When a cow is having a calf in the middle of the night, it’s cold, it’s falling, it’s shaking, you’re – you name it, you can’t go out and do your job when it’s 100 degrees. You’re always there, and you can’t take a break. But I think it was the hardest and best part of my life.

Trowman and Thomas were introduced to the organization that runs the Dairy Princess competition and the milk promotion program in a different way.

Troutman has been involved with Lebanon County Dairy Promotions since she was 5 years old when she was Lebanon County’s Little Miss Dairy. She later was a Lebanon County dairy worker.

“to me, [those experiences] It really helped prepare me for where I am today with Dairy Princess and everything I do with Dairy Princess is because you really learn the program, you learn more about what you do and you watch the other person. Dairy princesses in your reign. [You get to] See what they do. You can talk to them. And you make lifelong friendships with them,” Troutman said.

Thomas’ current desire to educate the public about how much local farmers need help and how to support these farmers brought her to Lebanon County Dairy Promotions.

“I’ve been told by several people, ‘You’ll never get into farming. It’s really a closed community. Like, if you don’t have any agricultural ties to your family, you might as well forget about it,’” Thomas said. “But I saw this list. And I have been working on dairy farming for a long time. My boss is an advocate for agriculture.

Thomas continued, “And I thought it would be a good opportunity to share my story of not being a kid from a farm and not being on a farm and somebody giving me a chance to make my dream come true.

Leading up to the competition stage, the princess candidates each created a skit promoting a dairy product to young children. Messaging looks at how farmers care for the environment, animal welfare and food safety.

The candidates also wrote about one speech on issues related to dairy. The skit and the speech were each three to five minutes long.

During the competition, each of the candidates was interviewed by a panel of judges. They also responded to an unexpected question from the audience. The festival audience consisted of about 200 people, including local farmers.

Thomas named her skit, and audience members guessed dairy facts in Wheel of Fortune fashion, as her favorite part of the page.

“At the end of the night, Evelyn was crowned the princess, and I was crowned the alternate princess,” Thomas said. “Nice night though. It was a great race.”

According to Thomas, the responsibilities of a Dairy Princess and an Alternative Dairy Princess are very similar.

Truman and Thomas do many promotions together. Trowman attends a slightly higher number of events and invests more in the social media landscape in hopes of winning awards and scholarships at the end of the month.

Echoes of Truman’s experience can be found in her experience with children as a dairy princess.

“So far this year, my favorite part would definitely have to be when… I get to work with [little kids] in different promotional settings. They come up to me at various events and say, ‘I saw you. “You were at my school,’ or ‘I saw you at this place,’ and they tell me what I talked to them about,” Truman said. “And it makes me so happy to know that I’ve made an impact somewhere in Lebanon County, even if it’s in the heart of a little kid.”

In just over two months, Thomas had the same experiences with the children as the Dairy Princess.

“I think it’s the most valuable experience I’ve had so far,” Thomas said. “It’s the way the younger generation looks at you.” “When they see a crown, they say, ‘Oh my! That’s a real princess.’

“I think it’s great to be able to not only inspire, but show the younger generation how important it is to be a good and kind person because that’s what they all want to understand where they’re coming from. We are trying to connect farmers and consumers.

Looking to the future, Trauman, currently a senior, plans to attend a one-year discipleship school at Miracle Mountain Ranch, 101 Rodeo Drive in Spring Creek, after high school. After the program, Trowman sees herself settling down, continuing to farm and promote agriculture.

And for the foreseeable future of the elderly Thomas, she plans to continue working for her current boss. She plans to run for Lebanon County Dairy Princess in 2023 and dreams of becoming PA State Dairy Princess.

Trowman concluded with a key message: “I remind everyone to get three servings of dairy every day because you should have at least three servings because that’s what our bodies need.” Milk is packed with 13 essential vitamins and minerals that our body needs to function properly, two of which are calcium and protein. Calcium helps our bones and teeth because we need strong bones and strong teeth. Protein also helps our muscles grow, and milk is full of protein, and it’s a really good source if you want another way to get your protein in.”

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