Merced teen is up for Dairy Princess
A Merced native is one of the three young women vying to represent the California Milk Advisory Board as the region’s Dairy Princess.
Marion Carpenter, a junior at El Capitan High School, will compete against Alexia Nunes and Nicole Sanders, both of Turlock, during the June 16 pageant. All three contestants are 17 years old.
Carpenter is active in FFA at El Capitan High and has shown replacement heifers at the Merced County Fair, according to a statement from the advisory board. A heifer from her grandfather’s farm, which she showed in 2015, was named the Grand Champion Heifer at the Merced County Fair.
Also a member of the dairy and vine judging teams, Carpenter competes with the water polo and swim teams, a news release stated.
Carpenter, the daughter of Mike and Adelia Carpenter, was named Miss Yosemite Valley’s Outstanding Teen for 2015 and also served as Miss Merced County’s Outstanding Teen in 2014.
Nunes is a senior at Turlock High School and Sanders is in her final year at Turlock Christian High School. The young women from Turlock both plan to attend Modesto Junior College in the fall, according to the advisory board.
Nunes, the Turlock High FFA president, shows dairy cattle, dairy goats, swine, poultry and rabbits, according to the news release. Sanders, an FFA member, shows dairy cattle and competes in barrel racing.
The District 6 Dairy Princess represents the counties of Alameda, Mariposa, Merced, Monterey, San Benito, San Francisco, San Mateo, Santa Clara, Santa Cruz, Stanislaus and Tuolumne. The winner serves as ambassador for the dairy industry at schools, for service groups and with the media.
The June 16 pageant will be held at 7 p.m. at Our Lady of Assumption Hall, 2602 S. Walnut Road in Turlock, with a social hour to begin at 6 p.m. Tickets are $20 and include dinner. They must be purchased by June 13 as no tickets are sold at the door.
For tickets, call Linda Teixeira at 209-634-4500 or 209-402-8305, or Lindsey Nunes at 209-678-2450.
This story was originally published May 20, 2016 at 3:06 PM with the headline "Merced teen is up for Dairy Princess."