On June 1, Penn Manor High School junior Kylee Hlavaty began serving in her role as Lancaster County dairy princess, a title awarded by Pennsylvania Dairy Princess & Promotion Services (PDPPS). As this year's dairy princess, Hlavaty will promote the dairy industry at farm shows, festivals, schools and grocery stores throughout the county and its surrounding areas.

Hlavaty was encouraged to apply for the program by her grandmother, who served as Lebanon County dairy princess in 1977. Hlavaty's family has a long history of involvement with the dairy industry, at one point owning multiple dairy farms. The deed for the family's first farm, which is located in Berks County, was signed by William Penn more than 300 years ago. The dairy princess program appealed to Hlavaty not only because of her family's history, but also due to her respect for the dedication and hard work of dairy farmers. "It's not just getting milk from cows," Hlavaty said. "They work every single day, 365 days a year, with no breaks, often getting up in the middle of the night if one of your cows goes into labor."

Last year, Hlavaty served as a dairy maid for Lebanon County, which entailed duties similar to those of a dairy princess. Dairy maids are representatives who are younger than the dairy princesses, and each county can have multiple dairy maids serving at the same time. In addition to serving as a dairy maid, Hlavaty began to work on a dairy farm and continued to learn about the industry.

As a Lancaster County dairy princess candidate, Hlavaty was required to demonstrate her knowledge by giving a speech, offering a presentation and answering a question related to the dairy industry. For her speech, Hlavaty discussed several types of diets and elaborated on the role that dairy - or the absence of dairy - plays in each of them. Hlavaty's presentation took the form of a trivia game called "Reach for Real Dairy." She placed empty containers of dairy milk and its alternatives in front of a poster board and sorted each container into one of two shopping baskets based on its nutritional value, health benefits and ingredients. Hlavaty drew inspiration for her presentation from her grandmother, who worked as a food scientist for the Hershey Company.

Hlavaty discovered that she had been named dairy princess on May 20 and attended her first event on June 2 in Lancaster city. During the event, she handed out milkshakes and offered informational games to the public alongside members of the PA Dairymen's Association. Since then, Hlavaty has attended several dairy shows, and she will give lessons in schools across the state in the fall. "I was surprised by how happy the community has been to see an active dairy princess," Hlavaty said. "It makes them want to learn about the industry and how it's about so much more than just owning a few cows."