MSU's Alpha Gamma Rho chapter hosted beef show benefiting Michigan AgrAbility

Staff report
·3 min read

Members of Michigan State University’s Alpha Gamma Rho (AGR) Tau Chapter hosted the ninth Beef Preview Show Feb. 11-13, at the university’s Livestock Pavilion. The event benefits Michigan AgrAbility whose mission is to support farmers with disabilities and help them obtain assistive technology to continue their farming operations.

Event co-chairs were Logan Leen of Sandusky, Nate Scovill from Perry, Daniel Jackson from Palmyra, Ty Finegan from Jonesville, and Harrison Hautau from Marshall.

Through the contributions of 59 sponsors and entry fees on 535 head of cattle, the committee paid the bills and presented Michigan AgrAbility with a check for $18,000 in April. This contribution, combined with donations from previous years events, brings a cumulated total of over $102,000 that AGR Tau has delivered to farmers with disabilities in Michigan. The grand total is a fitting number as the chapter celebrated it’s 100th anniversary on the same weekend as the check was presented.

“We had overwhelming support and we're grateful to be back in person at the Pavilion,” Logan Leen said. “We were able to spend time together with people we hadn’t seen in a good year or two and being back together doing normal events was great. The help of our sister sorority, Sigma Alpha, along with the Pavilion staff, and other outside support really took the stress off us and makes it a more rewarding event.”

Due to COVID lockdowns, the show was cancelled in 2021. Instead, the fraternity organized a spring golf outing as their philanthropic event for Michigan AgrAbility. The 2020 show took place prior to COVID lockdowns.

Ryan Rasch of Texas, along with Tucker and Bodee Schlipf of Illinois, judged the entries presented by 426 exhibitors.

Leen reflected on the past 10 years of the show, crediting the original show founders who were avid beef showmen with strong agricultural roots for building the foundation of a partnership that would grow into the largest single sorority or fraternity house philanthropic event on MSU’s campus. The only event that raises a larger sum is the combined efforts of 28 fraternities and 14 sororities during Greek Week.

“It makes me happy that we are able to do this as a bunch of college students,” Leen said. “The people that started show are still so invested AgrAbility, the show, and its long-term success. It’s truly a unique event in its structure.”

The donation to AgrAbility provides funds for items to farmers of all ages who deal with disability daily. Some people who are helped through this discretionary funding do not qualify for state sponsored rehabilitation services, while others choose not to go through the extensive and lengthy process.

“We love to give back to the community and to agriculture,” Leen said. “We love the opportunity for youth to gain skills, learn about MSU, animal ag, AGR and what we stand for, and learn about AgrAbility’s mission.”

Hosting a livestock show of this size requires significant behind the scene time spent together to make it all come together.

“We spent a lot of time as a group collectively problem solving and working as a team,” Leen said.

But it’s not just relationships between members that are carved in the process. The members return yearly to the same businesses for banners and t-shirts, and have developed professionally from those connections, too.

“I never would have expected to order $2000 worth of t-shirts or $1000 worth of banners in college; you don’t think you need to know how to do that until it hits,” Leen said.

The members have gained networking contacts far beyond the value of being at MSU through gathering sponsorships and dealing with local businesses.

“We have gained personal experience and are further ahead than people not involved in AGR,” Leen said.

While team members hustled during the beef show to keep the moving parts working, three co-chairmen of the committee paused for a quick photo during the February show. Pictured from left are co-chairmen Logan Leen, Ty Finegan, of Jonesville, and Harrison Hautau. Co-chairs missing from the photo were Nate Scovill and Daniel Jackson.
While team members hustled during the beef show to keep the moving parts working, three co-chairmen of the committee paused for a quick photo during the February show. Pictured from left are co-chairmen Logan Leen, Ty Finegan, of Jonesville, and Harrison Hautau. Co-chairs missing from the photo were Nate Scovill and Daniel Jackson.

This article originally appeared on Hillsdale Daily News: MSU's Alpha Gamma Rho hosted beef show benefiting Michigan AgrAbility