Siana Barrett was selected as the 2019 Dairy Princess for the California Milk Advisory Board’s District 6. The crowning took place before a crowd of 200 dairy industry members and their families and friends, on Thursday at Our Lady of Assumption Hall in Turlock.

Retiring Dairy Princess Sophia Vander Dussen turned the title over to Barrett and wished her success as she represents the California dairy industry throughout the coming year.

Barrett will represent District 6, which includes Alameda, Mariposa, Merced, Monterey, San Benito, San Francisco, San Mateo, Santa Clara, Santa Cruz, Stanislaus and Tuolumne counties. As Dairy Princess, she will play an important role on the CMAB’s Communications Services team in meeting community relations objectives.

She is the daughter of Ryan Barrett and Jill Scott of Dos Palos. She is a recent graduate of Los Banos High School and Merced College and in the fall she will transfer to San Jose Community College to work on her associate’s degree in marketing. Barrett is a member of Los Banos FFA and 4-H and is active in both National and California Junior Holstein Associations, Central Valley Jersey Breeders Association and National and California Junior Brown Swiss Association.

First Alternate, Alyce Silva, is the daughter of David and Nelia Silva of Turlock. She is a graduate of Turlock High School and will attend Modesto Junior College in the fall and major in agriculture business. Silva is an active member of Turlock FFA and has served as the chapter reporter for the past year. She started showing dairy heifers in Chatom 4-H and continues to show with Turlock FFA as well as a member of the Turlock FFA dairy products judging team.

Second Alternate, Paige Bringham, is the daughter of Karry and Regina Brigham of Atwater. She is a graduate of Atwater High School and plans to attend Merced College in the fall and major in biological sciences. Bringham has been an active member of Atwater FFA where she shows dairy heifers and St. Anthony’s 4-H club where she has held several officer positions. She also competed on the varsity water polo team and swim team at Atwater High School.

Silva and Bringham will assist the new District 6 Dairy Princess in her duties, which include speaking on behalf of the California dairy industry at schools, service clubs, with the media, and at numerous public events throughout the year.

In addition, the Dairy Princess and her Alternates will attend a training session focused on presentation development, advocating for the California dairy industry, leadership and etiquette.

Along with the excitement of naming the new Dairy Princess, the District 6 Dairy Princess committee also awarded $2,400 in scholarships to the five contestants. Finally, the contestants themselves voted for the Miss Vitality Award. This award is given to a young lady whom each contestant felt had the most spirit throughout the Dairy Princess experience; Bringham was selected as Miss Vitality 2019.

The Master of Ceremonies for the contest was Frank Borba of Escalon. Contestants were judged on poise, personality, speaking ability, education and dairy background. Judges for the contest were Brad Barham of Hughson, Cara Crye of Morro Bay and Diana Peters of Lincoln. The event chairperson was Linda Teixeira.