Green County put its best foot forward last weekend hosting Wisconsin’s Alice in Dairyland finals.
Rock County’s Abigail Martin, a graduate of University of Wisconsin-Madison and Milton High School, was named the 72nd Alice in Dairyland on Saturday night at Monroe Middle School.
This followed three days of events for this year’s five finalists that took them to Monroe, Brodhead, New Glarus, Albany and parts in-between.
Planning to host the Alice in Dairyland finals is a complicated matter and local representatives put on a fabulous show in our community. The Green County Committee for the Alice in Dairyland finals included Trisha Pernot and Lynn Lokken as co-chairs and Ruth Bergemann, Pam Burke, Julene Elmer, Judy Gill, Ann Goers, Kris Winkler, Dan Ziegler and Ti Gauger, who was a representative from the Department of Trade, Agriculture and Consumer Protection.
Pernot said as a youth she had dreamed of being Alice in Dairyland, but when the time came, she couldn’t participate in the program. When the opportunity arose to host the Alice in Dairyland finals, Pernot said being involved was as close as she could come to that original dream.
Pernot thanked the committee and Lokken for “always being ready with answers” during the planning process. Lokken said it took a lot of local support to host the finals and she thanked all of those involved.
The Alice in Dairyland program is not a pageant. It’s a job interview for a year-long position with DATCP. The person chosen to serve as Alice is offered a contract, and once signed, starts working a whirlwind schedule of promoting Wisconsin’s agricultural industry at events large and small throughout the state.
The outgoing Alice, Kaitlyn Riley of Gays Mills, gave 360 speeches last year and traveled 33,000 miles throughout all areas of Wisconsin. Some people take to a job like a duck takes to water and Riley served as the quintessential “Alice.”
One of the more interesting moments was when all of those who formerly served in the position of “Alice” were called onto the stage. It was quite a large group — approximately 30-40 — who were in attendance. Almost all were wearing a mink coat that Alice receives from the Kettle Moraine Mink Breeders Association. Wisconsin is the No. 1 mink-producing state in the nation. The mink breeders, Wisconsin Corn Promotion Board, Midwest Jeweler’s Association and Dairy Farmers of Wisconsin are all program partners with DATCP. The corn board provides the vehicle Alice drives, the jewelers association provides the tiara and a jeweled brooch to increase Alice’s visibility and the dairy farmers provide presentation assistance for Alice — creating a learning program for fourth graders around the state.
There were approximately 70 local businesses as sponsors of the finals, which is essential for a county hosting such a program. This was the second time in the history of the Alice in Dairyland program, which began in 1948, that Green County hosted the finals.
While Abigail Martin was named the new Alice, and Riley said her goodbyes as the outgoing Alice, there were four other finalists who put a great deal of effort into the opportunity for the DATCP position. They included Tess Zettle of Juda, Mariah Martin of Brooklyn in Rock County, Sarah Achenbach of Eastman in Crawford County and Cassandra Krull of Jefferson County.
The candidates had been judged on eight different criteria by a three-person panel over all three days, so there was much to be considered that wasn’t seen on Saturday night.
The finalists had two sessions of public speaking before a final decision was made.
Zettle had a final presentation on Wisconsin agriculture in which she highlighted Wisconsin’s potato crop, which is third in the nation. She mentioned a Swiss potato dish that was served earlier in the evening at the pre-finale dinner at Turner Hall.
Mariah Martin was flawless during both public speaking sessions. She used well-known industry philosophies such as “gate to plate” and the USDA’s “My Plate” program to relate how Wisconsin agricultural products fit into a balanced, nutritious meal.
Krull used a series of props during her final presentation to build a complete dinner of Wisconsin food products. She also mentioned Wisconsin’s Christmas tree growers and their role in agriculture.
Achenbach talked about Wisconsin’s agriculture exports noting the state ranks 12th in the nation for products sent abroad.
Abigail Martin’s final presentation didn’t have a verbal misstep and was well polished. When it was announced she was the 72nd Alice in Dairyland, Martin covered her eyes with her hands and looked as if she had been jolted by a live wire.
Just before signing a contract to work for DATCP in the next year, Martin’s surprise was evident.
“I’m so excited I can hardly walk,” she said before taking on her first official interview as Alice.
Martin said she had a good three days during the finals and was impressed by the family-owned, agriculture-related companies she had toured in Green County.
The county played the perfect role as host, using its strengths as an agricultural community to benefit the Alice in Dairyland program. It was a solid showcase of some of the best Green County has to offer, and the Alice in Dairyland program built on an already-strong connection to where we live.
— Matt Johnson is publisher of the Monroe Times. His column is published Wednesdays.
