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Update: New UW grad crowned Alice in Dairyland

The Capital Times  —  5/17/2008 1:09 pm

Ashley Kay Huibregtse now has two big achievements to celebrate this weekend.

The Plymouth native, who graduated Saturday morning from the University of Wisconsin, was crowned Friday as the state's 61st Alice in Dairyland at a banquet in Sheboygan.

Huibregtse, a 23-year-old who earned degrees in elementary education and communications, is a member of the UW Association of Women in Agriculture and Badger Dairy Club.

Alice in Dairyland is a salaried position with the state Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection. It's a yearlong commitment starting June 6, during which Huibregtse gets the use of a donated flex-fuel vehicle for her travel.

She said she plans to put that vehicle to good use as she travels the state to appear at farms, functions, fairs and schools.

"I want to get as far west as I can, as far east as I can, as far north, southwest," she said in an interview with The Sheboygan Press after the ceremony. "I just want to travel and let people know about the great news about agriculture."

Raised on a dairy farm in Sheboygan County -- where just a few days ago she was chasing calves -- she has served as an event coordinator for Wisconsin's First Lady, Jessica Doyle.

Huibregste's older sister, Abby Jo, was an Alice in Dairyland finalist in 2005. Their parents are Robert D. and Debra Huibregste of the Town of Lyndon in Sheboygan County.

Ashley Huibregtse assumes the Alice in Dairyland crown from Jill Ann Makovec, 29, of Muscoda, another UW alum who won the title last year in Eau Claire.

The other finalists for the award were:

Eau Claire native Kimberly Houser, 34, of Prairie du Sac, an instructor and adviser for the FFA program at Wisconsin Heights High School, who has a degree in agricultural education from UW-River Falls.

Cheryl Ann O'Brien, 23, of Eastman, a senior broadcast journalism major at UW-Milwaukee. She grew up on her family's small dairy farm and participated in the Holstein Association and 4-H programs.

Myriah Beth Osley, 21, of Melrose, a senior business management major at UW-La Crosse. She grew up on a livestock farm and has exhibited dairy cattle and also worked for the Federation Cooperative and Farmers' Cooperative.

Tracy Mae Phillippi, 23, of Wautoma, who graduated from UW-Eau Claire in 2007 with a degree in mass communications with an emphasis in public relations and a minor in political science. Phillippi grew up on a 600-acre vegetable farm in Wautoma.

The Capital Times  —  5/17/2008 1:09 pm