Bi2-L«ncaster Farming, Saturday, June 23,1990
Hill Wins Lebanon Dairy Princess
Pageant, Competes In
National Dairy Bowl
VERNON ACHENBACH, JR.
Lancaster Farming Staff
LEBANON (Lebanon Co)
There were no losers when Terry
Hill, 17, was crowned Lebanon
County Dairy Princess June 16 at
the Lebanon County Vo-Tech
School. All three contestants for
the title were named dairy
princesses.
It was the first time Lebanon
dairy promotion officials chose
two alternative dairy princesses.
Alternates perform a number of
promotional functions, filling in
when commitments prevent the
county princess from being present
at an event.
Some other counties have
already gone to a three-princess
system, because of the number of
concurrent events.
In addition to the crowning of
princesses, 6-year-old Katie Lentz
was selected as Little Miss Leba
non County Dairy Princess from a
field of five contestants. Little
miss dairy princesses assist dairy
princesses during some promo
tions, especially at school
activities.
The foursome including
alternates Dianne Dice, 20, and
Stephanie Wagner, 15 will
spend about two-thirds of the next
year serving dairy foods, buying
dairy items for patrons of certain
super markets, making speeches
and attending banquets.
But for Hill, the schedule is even
more complex. Not only is she
scheduled to compete for the state
dairy princess pageant this fall, but
she is one of the four-member state
dairy bowl team. They are to be
competing in national competi
tions in North Carolina today
through Thursday.
Hill accepted the crown during
an emotional ceremony. It started
with a farewell speech by outgoing
princess Kynel Bomgardner.
After giving the goodbye
speech, she fought back tears
while she acknowledged those
Stephanie Wagner, dressed as a heifer calf, tells a story of
looking for her mother and describes her mother through
dairy terms.
who had helped her tackle 100
promotional events during the past
year. Then Bomgardner played
piano and sang a duet with her
mother, “To God Be The Glory.”
Some in the audience, apparently
touched by the song and the
moment, began to sob slightly dur
ing the song.
Then, with the naming of Hill as
the 1990 princess, Bomgardner
turned over the reign of Lebanon
dairy promotion.
Bomgardner’s tears of sadness
were mixed with Hill tears of joy.
Hill, daughter of James and Ber
nice Hill, Lebanon RD 6, has
accomplished a number of feats in
the three years since her family
moved from a 95-acre Sussex
County, New Jersey, dairy farm to
their present 120-acre Holstein and
Brown Swiss operation in the
northern part of Lebanon County.
Newcomers to the Lebanon area
frequently complain about always
being considered an “outsider,”
even after they have lived in the
area for more than 25 years.
However, the reception Hill has
received does not reflect a closed
community that shuns outsiders.
“It was hard getting used to not
having my friends, but I adjusted
quickly to Lebanon County, so I
got over it. But I do miss the
friends that I do have in New
Jersey,” she said.
A recent graduate from North
ern Lebanon High School, Hill’s
almost immediate involvement
with' 4-H and FFA upon moving to
Lebanon helped pave the way for
her acceptance into the
community.
A self-proclaimed lack of confi
dence caused her to turn down the
opportunity to compete for the
dairy princess title last year. Offi
cials had asked her to be a
contestant.
“Last year I didn’t have the con
fidence in myself and this year,
through public speaking class and
various activities, I’ve learned to
promote the dairy industry, the life
1 love,” she said during the
pageant.
“Last year I wasn’t really pre
pared to enter a contest. I was
scared. I didn’t think I’d be able to
get up in front of a group and per
form a skit,” she said. “Also I
wanted to wait until I was out of
high school so I could devote more
of my time to the promotions,” Hill
said.
During the pageant, her inhibi
tions were completely conquered
until. . . “they were about to'
announce who won.”
Hill said that’s when she started
to get excited and nervous.
But Hill’s success in overcom
ing shyness of groups and fear of
public speaking didn’t just come
from her straightfoward attacking
the problem through getting addi
tional education. She did have
friends with experience in the
public arena.
1988 state Dairy Princess
Rebecca Sonnen is a teammate of
Hill’s on the state dairy bowl team.
Through that activity, with the
weekly practices and some other
agricultural-based activities, Hill
and Sonnen began talking.
“Knowing Becky has helped a
lot becaue she is always positive
about anything she does and she is
someone to look up to,” Hill said.
“Whenever I had any questions
about promotions or preparing for
the contest, I knew I could turn to
her,” she said. “We’re becoming
close friends through the dairy
bowl. I’ve gotten to know her very
well.”
Part of the dairy princess com
petitions in Lebanon is giving a
public response to a question. All
contestants got the same question;
“If you were president of the
United States, what would be your
first act and why?”
Elvin Gingrich was master of
ceremonies and asked each contes
tant the question twice.
Hill said she would direct efforts
toward feeding the nation’s starv
ing and homeless. She said that a
country that attempts to help world
starvation by donating food over
sees and can produce such large
amounts of surplus food, pur
chased by the government, should
not have starvation at home.
The other two girls’ answers
focused on the farm bill, education
and the dairy industry. Hill said
she didn’t think that, as president,
the current interest of one segment
of the nation should override the
needs of the whole nation.
“I felt that it would sort of be
self-centered to just go with my
occupation. I feel there are many
occupations and problems in the
world and we could feed the starv
ing with what is our surplus.”
Hill said she tries to stay aware
of current affairs mainly through
reading newspapers.
She said her focus on America’s
starving eminated from a high
school class.
“We had a debate on it in our
English speaking class. I was one
of the two people who did a debate
on homeless or starving.”
Self-centeredness is apparently
not part of Hill’s makeup, nor her
reason for getting involved in the
dairy princess program. She said
she did it for the opportunity to
help the dairy industry and to bet
ter herself.
Some segments of society have
criticized pageants such as the
Miss America event.
1989 Lebanon County Dairy Princess Kynel Bomgardner
places the 1990 crown on Terry Hill.
Hill said there is a big difference
between those types of pageants
and the type in which a representa
tive is selected to promote an agri
cultural commodity or livestock
breed.
“I think it’s mostly judged on
your personality and interests. It’s
not judged on beauty,” she said,
then laughed.
The competitors for the 1990
title were mutually supportive.
They know each other outside of
being involved in the pageant.
“1 know Stephanie a little more,
because she was in the dairy con
tests I was in. She is a member of
the junior dairy bowl team and she
would go to the same competi
tions,” Hill said. “I know Dianne
through our FFA chapter.”
Hill works full time on the fami
ly farm doing the morning feeding
and maintainence of the 55 milk
ing cows and almost a like number
of calves and heifers. She also
keeps records of the breeding
program.
Kynel Bomgardner places the crown onto Katie Lentz,
1990 Little Miss Lebanon County Dairy Princess. Outgoing
Little Miss, Alicia Mase, looks on.
With much of the next year
being devoted to road trips and
entire days and evenings promot
ing dairy products. Hill said some
one will have to be found to fill in
for her absence at the farm.
A National Honor Society mem
ber in high school, Hill said she is
not stopping her education. She is
attend, as a parttime
student, the Lebanon branch of
Harrisburg Area Community Col
lege which is opening soon. She
plans to study computer applica
tions and speech communications
this semester.
Her future is still undecided.
She said that while she milks cows
she often thinks about what she is
going to do, where she is headed.
“I feel that the embryo trans
plant and the genetic Held might be
an area that I might like to enter,”
she said.
In the meantime, she said what
ever she eventually decides, she’s
certain it will be in agriculture.