Meet Laurel Gordon

Laurel is 18, a student at Elma High School in Grays County, Washington. She was recently appointed the Washington State Dairy Ambassador. There is a slight problem -- from the Seattle Post-Intelligencer:

Elma, Wash., dairy princess is lactose intolerant
She has to have worked on a dairy farm or shown dairy cows for FFA or 4-H. She must be single. She must be a legal resident of Washington. She must have a neat, professional appearance without any tattoos or piercings.

These are all the requirements of being a Washington State Dairy Ambassador. As strict as some of these requirements are, one requirement that might seem logical is missing � namely, that she be able to consume dairy products.

Laurel Gordon, 18, a senior at Elma High School, was Grays Harbor County's Dairy Ambassador for 2010 to 2011 and is a contestant for the state dairy ambassador title in next month's competition. She is also a lactose intolerant dairy princess.

When people find out that Gordon has been promoting dairy products all over the county and the state for the past year, but can't actually consume dairy without special pills, they often laugh, she said.

"They think it's pretty funny," Gordon said. "I'm kind of a joke around my friends."

She certainly has the dairy experience:

Gordon lives on her parent's dairy farm in Elma that has been in the Gordon family for 150 years. Her parents, Jay and Susan Gordon, took over the farm about 25 years ago. About 5 years ago, the dairy switched to all organic, growing its own organic feed and treating the cows without hormones or antibiotics. The farm sells its milk to Organic Valley, the largest organic milk co-op in the country, according to the company's website.

Heh... I am OK with milk and cream but anything with cheese or sour cream does a number on my gut so I can certainly sympathize...