The four contestants for the Lewis County Diary Ambassador crown are, from left, Jennifer Swenson, Karissa Teeter, Katie Rhodes and Abby Smaciarz.
One of four young women from Lewis and Pacific counties will be named the next Lewis County Dairy Ambassador during an event Saturday evening at St. John’s Lutheran Church in Chehalis.
The hopefuls are Jennifer Swanson, Chehalis; Karissa Teeter, Centralia; Katie Rhodes, Napavine; and Abby Smaciarz, Raymond.
There will be a scholarship fundraising dinner held prior to the coronation. The lasagna dinner will begin at 6 p.m. Tickets are available at the door for $15.
Following the dinner, the coronation will begin at 7.
Here is some information about the contestants:
• Jennifer Swenson, 17, is a senior at W.F. West High School in Chehalis. She is the daughter of Frank Swenson and Christy Dykstra-Ervin. Swenson has been involved in 4-H dairy for 10 years, raising and showing dairy heifers. She plans to attend Centralia College after high school, and then transfer to Washington State University to complete a degree in pharmacy.
• Karissa Teeter is the daughter of Luke and Kirstie Teeter and lives with her family on their dairy farm in Centralia, where they milk about 125 cows. Teeter is active in 4-H and FFA and is employed as a veterinary assistant at Cascade West Veterinarian Hospital. She is a junior at Centralia High School and plans to attend Centralia College and become a registered nurse, specializing in pediatrics.
• Katie Rhodes, a senior at Napavine High School, is the daughter of Joel and Diana Rhodes. Rhodes has been a member of the Curtis Valley Cattle 4-H Club for the past 10 years, raising dairy heifers and cows as her projects. She works at the Chehalis Livestock Market and plans to become a veterinary technician after she graduates from high school.
• Abby Smaciarz, 17, is the daughter of Terry and Lana Smaciarz, and lives with her family on their dairy farm in Raymond. Abby works on her family farm, and has been a 4-H dairy member for nine years. She is a junior at Willapa Valley High School and plans to attend Centralia College and then transfer to Washington State University to study business with an emphasis in agriculture.
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