Alexis Dias of Denair has been selected as the 2024 District 4 Dairy Princess, with Gabrielle Furtado of Modesto and Macie Silva of Denair selected as 1st and 2nd alternate respectively. The contest was held on June 13, in Turlock.

Alexis will represent District 4 which consists of Alameda, Alpine, Amador, Calaveras, Contra Costa, El Dorado, Mariposa, Merced, Monterey, Sacramento, San Benito, San Francisco, San Joaquin, San Mateo, Santa Clara, Santa Cruz, Stanislaus, Tuolumne, and Yolo counties. As Dairy Princess, she will play a key role on the CMAB’s Communication Services team in meeting community relations objectives.

Alexis is the daughter of Kristine Patrias and the late Jose Silveira Dias. She graduated from Turlock High School and will attend California State University, Fresno in the fall to major in Viticulture and Enology. Her passion for the dairy industry stems from her father and grandfather who both worked in the dairy industry. Alexis has shown dairy cattle at local fairs and was an active member of the Turlock Future Farmers of America program, where she served as Chapter President. Alexis was also the President of the Turlock High School Portuguese Club.

Crowned 1st Alternate Dairy Princess, Gabrielle, daughter of Manuel and Patty Furtado, will be a senior at Modesto High School. Upon graduation she plans to attend Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo to major in Agricultural Business and hopes to be on the Dairy Judging Team. Gabrielle grew up on her family’s dairy, Furtado Farms, and shows dairy cattle at the county fair. She is a member of the Modesto Future Farmers of America Chapter where she is on the Dairy Judging Team. Gabrielle previously served as the Modesto Future Farmers of America Chapter Reporter and is the current Stanislaus-Tuolumne Future Farmers of America Section Reporter. She is very active at Modesto High School where she serves as the Student Body Officer, Junior Class Vice President, and Captain of the Varsity Tennis Team.

Macie, daughter of Rodney Maciel and Megan Piro, was crowned 2nd Alternate Dairy Princess. She attends California State University, Fresno, and Modesto Junior College where she is majoring in Animal Science with a dairy emphasis, in hopes of becoming a Dairy Nutritionist. Beginning at the age of 12, Macie showed dairy cattle at the Stanislaus County Fair. While attending Turlock Christian High School, Macie was a member of the Future Farmers of America program and played softball competitively. She is currently a member of the Dairy Club at Fresno State and spends time volunteering at her church’s nursery and preschool classes.

The John and Nellie Bartelink Memorial Scholarship was awarded to Alexis, Gabrielle, and Macie. John and Nellie were dairy farmers in Escalon and proud supporters of the Dairy Princess program.

Gabrielle and Macie will assist the new District 4 Dairy Princess in her duties, which include speaking and appearing on behalf of the California dairy industry to various audiences throughout the year.

As Dairy Princess and Alternates, Alexis, Gabrielle, and Macie will attend a professional development training focused on presentation skills, advocating for the California dairy industry, leadership, and business etiquette.

Candidates were judged on speaking ability, education, dairy background, poise, and personality. Judges for the contest were Tony Louters of Merced, Mikayla Brasil of Cotati, and Kimberly McLaughlin of Loomis.