Amanda Thompson was crowned the 2002 Freeborn County Dairy Princess and Amy Lysne was named the 2002 Freeborn County Milk Maid at the annual banquet and coronation Saturday evening at the Budget Host Inn.

Thompson is the daughter of Nathan Thompson of Clarks Grove and Charlene Thompson of Albert Lea. She is the third member of her immediate family to be crowned dairy princess, following the path of her sisters, Jennifer and Anita.

Thompson said she wanted to represent Freeborn County as its dairy princess because of &uot;all the good opportunities&uot; it would provide and the chance to promote dairy products. She is a freshman at the University of Wisconsin-River Falls, and is majoring in dairy science and minoring in ag business.

&uot;Growing up on a farm has taught me to work hard, and that sometimes we have to do things we don’t want to do,&uot; Thompson said. &uot;Dairy farmers work hard and don’t get a vacation. I hope to do a good job representing them.&uot;

Thompson, whose father milks 52 Holsteins, is sponsored by Associated Milk Producers.

Paul Anderson, representing the former Mid-America Dairymen ice cream barn at the Freeborn County Fair, presented Thompson with a $300 scholarship.

Lysne is the daughter of Darwin and Barb Lysne of rural Albert Lea. She is also sponsored by Associated Milk Producers. Besides a former Milk Maid, Carrie Hubbard, her family was the only one in her 4-H club who had a dairy operation. The family milks 60 Holsteins. For that reason, she decided to seek the Milk Maid position, she said.

The Milk Maid is a position unique to Freeborn County. In addition to riding in parades and doing in-store promotions, it is the Milk Maid’s duty to read the book, &uot;Daisy the Cow,&uot; to young children throughout the area. The book was written in 1967 by Charlotte Thompson Nelson for the children of Freeborn County.

Lysne said because she lives on a dairy farm, she already knows how important it is for kids and adults to drink milk. She likes the &uot;milk mustache&uot; advertisements, especially the ones featuring her favorite entertainers, the Dixie Chicks.

&uot;Milk every day can’t be beat,&uot; she said.

She said she’d like to see milk dispensed in vending machines in a &uot;snazzy can,&uot; just like pop is.

&uot;Remember to tell all your friends that drinking milk is cool,&uot; the new Milk Maid told banquet-goers.

Lysne was crowned by 2001 Milk Maid Torrance Petersen, who went over the highlights of her reign. &uot;It was a very educational and enjoyable experience, riding in parades, handing out ice cream bars and taping radio spots,&uot; she said.

But she said the most important thing she did was read the &uot;Daisy the Cow&uot; book to children and teach them the importance of eating dairy products. She read the book to those assembled at the banquet.

Petersen is the daughter of Ron and Amy Petersen of rural Albert Lea.

Thompson was crowned by the 2001 Dairy Princess Katie Jo Otterson.

&uot;I had the best year ever and would be happy to represent Freeborn County again,&uot; Otterson said.

She talked about being in parades, doing a program for Head Start children, meeting other dairy princesses in St. Cloud, and speaking at schools and to older adults about new dairy projects. Otterson said she also did a speech for a college course at Riverland Community College about dairy products, for which she received an &uot;A.&uot;

The daughter of Dean and Jolene Otterson was presented with a portrait from Hy-Vee, her employer and one of her sponsors along with LeSueur Cheese.

&uot;I know she represented you well, because she represents us well,&uot; Assistant Hy-Vee Manager Brad Walters told banquet-goers.