Pair of area young ladies vying for 2016 Allamakee County Dairy Princess crown at Saturday's banquet

The 2016 Allamakee County Dairy Banquet will be held this Saturday, March 19 at the Allamakee County Fairgrounds Pavilion in Waukon. The meal will be served from 7-8:30 p.m. with the program starting at 8 p.m.
The annual celebration recognizes the importance of the dairy industry in Allamakee County and the contributions dairy families make to this important industry. Every year, top producers from the county are recognized at the banquet. In addition, several other awards are presented that evening, some of which include the following:
• Outstanding Young Dairy Family Award
• Pioneer Dairyman Award
• Distinguished Dairy Family Award
• Service to Dairy Industry Award
• Golden Butter Knife Award.
Also a highlight of the evening's festivities, the 2016 Allamakee County Dairy Princess will be crowned. Two Allamakee County young ladies - Mikayla Gavin and Kate-Leigh Wilson - are vying for this year’s Dairy Princess crown. Photos and biographies of the candidates appear below.

Mikayla Gavin -
Mikayla Gavin, age 18, is the daughter of Mike and Kay Gavin of Lansing. She has two brothers, Brayden and Cota, and will be graduating in the spring of 2016 from Kee High School in Lansing.
Mikayla currently works for her family at Gav-N-View farms milking 320 registered Holsteins. Her main responsibilities are milking cows, feeding calves, helping with field work, and helping with miscellaneous chores around the farm.
While in school, Mikayla is active in volleyball, basketball, Kee Klub, Quill and Scroll, Kee High Scholarship Fund, yearbook, and writing for The Talon school newspaper. In volleyball, she has received Second Team All-Conference honors and was named to the Class 1A Northeast District All-District Volleyball Team her senior year. In basketball, she received Honorable Mention All-Conference honors her sophomore year, First Team All-Conference honors and was named to the Iowa Girls Coaches Association All-Region Team for the Northeast Region her junior year, and she helped her team qualify for the State Tournament and was named Second Team All-Conference her senior year.
Outside of school, Mikayla is involved in the Iowa Junior Holstein Association, where she received the District 1 Holstein Distinguished Junior Member award this past year. Also, she is an active member in her 4-H club, the Lansing Blackhawks, where she has served as president and vice-president.
In her free time, Mikayla enjoys spending time with her family and friends. She enjoys working on the farm and showing animals at the Allamakee Country Fair, the District show, and the Iowa State Fair.
Her plans after high school include attending Northeast Iowa Community College in the fall of 2016 to major in Agriculture Business and Dairy Science Technology. Her sponsor is Calhoun Creamery.

Kate-Leigh Wilson -
Kate-Leigh Wilson is the 17-year-old daughter of Paula Homp and Greg Schwartzhoff. She will be graduating this spring from Waukon High School.
Kate-Leigh first began getting involved in the dairy industry at a young age by spending a lot of time at the farm operated by her aunt and uncle, Lisa and Jeff Schwartzhoff. She stays busy by helping out on her family farm owned by her grandfather, Gerald Schwartzhoff, and her stepfather, Greg Schwartzhoff. Their farm consists of 75 head of registered Holsteins, 60 steers, 250 Holstein heifers and three bulls.
Along with all the cattle, Kate-Leigh makes time for her horse, Misty, and her dog, Whiskey. When not spending time on the farm, she babysits and job shadows local veterinary clinics.
When she is not at home helping out or babysitting, she spends time working on her academics or stays busy with other extracurricular activities. Kate-Leigh has been on the 'B' honor roll and has received the academic letter at Waukon High School. While managing her grades, Kate-Leigh is also involved in Future Business Leaders of America (FBLA), Food and Fitness Initiative (FFI), Allamakee Scholarship Fund, Student Leadership, Orange Cord, cheerleading and track.
Kate-Leigh has received many honors in cheerleading, such as participating in the Iowa Shrine Bowl, Honor Squad and All Stars. Kate-Leigh was also crowned last year's Miss Corn Days in Waukon.
In her free time, Kate-Leigh adores spending time with all her animals, her friends and family. She enjoys going to the county fair with her friends, tubing on the Upper Iowa River, volunteering, attending rodeos and learning more about her future career. She loves getting to know people with her outgoing personality and being involved in her community. Kate-Leigh enjoys attending Iron Ridge youth group every Wednesday.
Kate-Leigh's future plans are to attend Northeast Iowa Community College in the Veterinarian Technician program and also the Dairy Science program, then continuing her education at Iowa State University to major in Chemistry and attend Veterinary school. Her sponsor is Waukon Veterinary Clinic.