FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: January 17, 2006

Dairy Royalty to Participate in PA Dairy Summit

When the leaders of Pennsylvania’s dairy industry gather in early February for the PA Dairy Summit, they will be greeted at the registration desk by enthusiastic supporters and promoters of the industry – Pennsylvania’s Dairy Royalty.   Pennsylvania Dairy Princess Katie Skaggs, Washington County, and the two Alternate Dairy Princesses Amanda Koons, Franklin County, and Sarah Malliard, Crawford County, will not only help register the expected 600 attendees, they will provide leadership throughout the Summit with breakout sessions and other events.

The 2006 PA Dairy Summit is being held February 1 and 2 at the Lancaster Host Resort and Conference Center, Lancaster, PA.  Its theme is “Passion, Progress and Profit,” and it is hosted jointly by the Pennsylvania Dairy Stakeholders and the Professional Dairy Managers of Pennsylvania (PDMP). Supporting partners are Penn State Dairy Alliance, The Center for Dairy Excellence, and the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture. It is designed to provide practical and timely information for the Commonwealth’s 9,000 dairy producers and dairy industry leaders.

Katie Skaggs is a 17-year-old senior at Washington High School, and plans to attend Penn State to study agriculture next year. The daughter of Gary Skaggs of North Carolina and Susan Skaggs of Washington, PA, she has five older brothers. Skaggs was one of two speech winners with her speech, “Chocolate Milk: the Ultimate Sports Drink.”

Amanda Koons is the 18-year-old daughter of John Jr. and Kandyce Koons, Waynesboro, PA, and is a 2005 graduate of Waynesboro Area Senior High School.  She is a freshman at Penn State - Mont Alto Campus where she is studying Animal Science and Business Management. 

Amanda lives on the 150-acre four-generation Clayana Dairy Farm, where they milk 70 Holsteins. 

Sarah Malliard, is the daughter of Roger and Kathy Malliard, Cochranton, PA, and is a senior at Cochranton High School. She was also a speech winner, with her speech, “Have Your 3-A-Day of Dairy Today.” She works at Mount Hope View Farm and Oakes Valley View Farm.

The Dairy Princesses will bring their enthusiasm to the conference as they demonstrate their own commitment and passion to Pennsylvania’s dairy industry.  PA Dairy Princess & Promotion Services, Inc. will be one of the nearly 60 exhibitors expected, and Junia Isiminger, Executive Director, will also assist with the Summit.

Under the sponsorship of WestfaliaSurge, two-time Olympic medalist Rulon Gardner, who grew up on a small dairy farm in Wyoming, will be the featured speaker at the closing luncheon on Thursday.  He will bring his personal message of courage and inspiration.

Other highlighted speakers and their topics include:

•  “Collision of Vision” - Bruce Vincent, Libby, MT, a third-generation logger who formed Communities for a great Northwest, an organization devoted to intelligent use of natural resources
• “Stirring Your Passion for Dairy” - Shelly Mayer, Executive Director, Professional Dairy Producers of Wisconsin
• “Moving a Passion to Profits” - Mike Schouten, Mission Dairy, Hereford, TX
• “Keeping an Eye on the Customer” - Stan Erwine, Vance Publishing’s Food 360 Group. Lenexa, KS
• “Finding the Leader in You” - Jolene Brown, an Iowa grain farmer who will help meeting attendees build leadership skills
• “Leading the Community to Dairy” - Andy Werkhoven, a Washington state dairy farmer

There is still opportunity for sponsorships of speakers and program segments, as well as for exhibitors.  For additional information and registration material, visit http://www.pdmp.org/dairySummit/announcement.htm.

Pennsylvania Secretary of Agriculture Dennis C. Wolff will speak at the Summit and there will be recognition of the Pennsylvania Dairymen’s Association Award Winners.

Conference hosts, PDMP and Pennsylvania Dairy Stakeholders, work together to provide leadership to producers and agribusiness across the state, striving to promote excellence and expand the dairy industry through improved productivity and profitability.

MEDIA CONTACT: Georgene Thompson, 717-243-1349/georgenethompson@comcast.net