Submitted photo
Oregon Dairy Princess-Ambassador Hanna Emerson of Tillamook County (left) and First Alternate Oregon Dairy Princess-Ambassador Patty Roper of Clackamas County pose after being crowned Jan. 16 at the Oregon Dairy Women’s 51st Annual Coronation Banquet.
Molalla High School graduate and lifelong Beavercreek resident Patty Roper, 19, was crowned First Alternate Oregon Dairy Princess-Ambassador on Jan. 16, after serving as the Clackamas County Dairy Princess-Ambassador since May.
Roper was among six candidates representing six Oregon counties to compete for the Oregon Dairy Princess-Ambassador title, awarded to Hanna Emerson of Tillamook County. As the first alternate, Roper is expected to make appearances at 10 to 15 events this year, often standing in for Emerson when she is double-booked.
"I will be able to go to different schools in various communities and speak with kindergartners through third graders about the importance of dairy in their diet and about how dairy products go from the cows to the grocery stores," Roper said.
The Oregon Dairy Women have been sponsoring the program for 51 years, said Maril Rueck, state director for the Oregon Dairy Princess-Ambassador program.
The ambassadors will spend the year educating Oregon students and the public on proper nutrition, the health benefits of dairy products and the importance of agriculture.
"We want to create lifelong drinkers of milk and we want to educate them on farm life," Rueck said.
Roper grew up on her family's Beavercreek pork, beef and poultry farm and began working at the Fallen Oak Jerseys dairy farm in Molalla in exchange for use of their heifers to show at the fair.
Roper isn't new to the dairy princess role. As a sophomore in high school, she served as the Clackamas County Jersey Princess.
Roper graduated from MHS in 2008 and spent last year serving as a state officer for Oregon FFA. She was involved in FFA all four years of high school.
"FFA definitely helped build my foundation for agriculture in general and it allowed me to get involved in the dairy industry," Roper said. "I used to have a fear of public speaking and FFA helped me get over that. It just expanded my knowledge."
She is currently a freshman at Linn-Benton Community College, where she is studying agricultural business management. She plans to minor in marketing.
The Oregon Dairy Princess-Ambassador was selected by a panel of judges after a two-day competition requiring participants to complete an onstage interview, give speeches, present a creative commercial for a dairy product and conduct a mock classroom presentation. Contestants were scored according to communications and speaking ability, knowledge of the dairy industry, appearance and poise and their extracurricular activities and scholarship.
The Oregon Dairy Women and various groups and individuals donate scholarships for the winners.
Roper said she would encourage anyone interested to get involved in the industry, whether by serving as a future princess-ambassador or in another realm.
"Agriculture is the most basic and necessary industry. It's what allows us all to thrive," Roper said. "Dairy products have been recognized as an important part of our food pyramid and an important part of our diets, so it's very important that we learn about that all for our health.”