Three young women will compete for the prestigious title of Dairy Princess during ceremonies at the upcoming District 6 Dairy Princess Contest. The gala event will be held Thursday, June 16, 2016, at Our Lady of Assumption Hall in Turlock.

This year’s contestants are Marion Carpenter of Merced, Alexia Nunes and Nicole Sanders both of Turlock.

Marion is the daughter of Michael and Adelia Carpenter of Merced. She attends El Capitan High School participating in FFA. Marion shows replacement heifers at the Merced County Fair and showed the Grand Champion Heifer at the 2015 Merced County Fair, with a heifer from her grandfather’s dairy. She is also a member of the dairy and vine judging teams. Marion also competes in water polo and swim team.

Alexia Nunes is the daughter of Pete and Sandra Nunes of Turlock. She attends Turlock High School and will start Modesto Junior College in the summer; she plans to become a veterinarian. Alexia participates in FFA and has shown dairy cattle, dairy goats, swine, poultry and rabbits. She is current Turlock FFA President and is a member of the dairy cattle judging team, National Holstein Association and Northern California Junior Rodeo Association.

Nicole is the daughter of Scott and Sharalee Sanders of Turlock. She attends Turlock Christian High School (TCHS) and will start Modesto Junior College in the fall. Nicole is a member of TCHS FFA, American Jersey Cattle Association, California Jersey Cattle Association, Central Valley Jersey Breeders, California Holstein Association and American Computer Barrel Racing Association. Nicole and her sister have grown their registered herd of jerseys to over 150 milking jerseys and 60 registered calves. She is a member of the dairy judging team and shows dairy cattle throughout California and the nation and competes in barrel races.

The contest is sponsored by the District 6 Dairy Princess Committee and the CMAB. The contest will begin at 6 p.m. with a no-host social hour, followed by dinner and the contest at 7 p.m. To purchase tickets for the contest, contact Linda Teixeira at 209-634-4500 or 209-402-8305 or Lindsey Nunes at 209-678-2450. Tickets must be purchased by Monday, June 13; no tickets will be sold at the door.

The young lady crowned as Dairy Princess will represent the dairy industry in the counties of Alameda, Mariposa, Merced, Monterey, San Benito, San Francisco, San Mateo, Santa Clara, Santa Cruz, Stanislaus and Tuolumne. She will serve the area as ambassador for the dairy industry at schools, service groups and with the media. The newly selected princess and her alternate will participate in a week of training, provided by the California Milk Advisory Board (CMAB), which includes industry tours, presentation and etiquette training.

California is the nation’s leading milk producer. It also produces more butter, ice cream, yogurt and nonfat dry milk than any other state. Dairy products made with Real California milk can be identified by the Real California Milk seal, which certifies that the products are made exclusively with milk produced on California dairy farms. The state is the second-largest producer of cheese, which is available nationally under the Real California Cheese seal.