SECOND CENTURY CAMPAIGN FOR EXCELLENCE TEAM

Paul Hartwig - Honorary ChairRick Daluge - Co-Chair(608- 345-0865)Karl Drye - Co-Chair(815-355-5965)Jon AndersonJohn Faldet Paul HagenBill HantkeAndrew MulrooneyMatt OlsonMatt RepinskiBernie Staller

EDUCATIONAL FOUNDATION BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Matt Repinski - President Rick Daluge – Sec-TreasurerJohn DeiningerPaul HagenTodd KronbergAndrew MulrooneyJon RasmussenJared WendtMatt Olson – Noble RulerJohn Faldet – VNR ScholarshipTom Crenshaw – Chapter AdvrJon Schefers – Chapter Advisor

CORPORATION BOARD OF DIRECTORS Jon Rasmussen – PresidentAndrew Mulrooney – Vice PresBill Hantke – SecretaryEvan Schnadt – TreasurerBrian AlftDave LaatschJordan MathewsJared WendtMatt Olson – Noble RulerTyler Troiola - VNR OperationsTom Crenshaw – Chapter AdvrJon Schefers – Chapter Advisor

The CrescentWISCONSINAGR.COM • UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN • SEPTEMBER 2015

Iota Kicks off the 2nd Century Campaign for Excellence

As most of us know, in 2016 Iota celebrates 100 years on the Madison Campus. While this fact is a reason to celebrate next April 8-9th, 2016, we of course also want to position Iota Chapter for our next century. To do that the AGR Educational Foundation of Iota and the Iota Corporation Board have authorized a fund drive to propel Iota into a new and better future as we start our 2nd Century. Why do we need to do this? Partly to make sure the chapter has the same computer resources the UW dorms have, partly to provide more support for undergraduates to attend leadership seminars, recruitment schools, and national conventions, and partly to provide more financial sup-port in terms of scholarship to undergrads. A year of undergraduate education on the Madison campus is estimated to cost between $23-24,000. Tuition alone is $10,399/year! We also believe that many of our alumni want to leave a legacy for themselves and their families. And of course we all want to give back to help the next generation of agricultural leaders. If we can afford to provide support now, it makes sense to commemorate the Centennial and to help pay forward that assistance we might have received, either financial or perhaps through a Big Brother mentor or a chance at leadership in the chapter. Already to date seven brothers have stepped forward with gifts or pledge totaling $100,000. If you are called to either consider a gift by a brother or are asked to help contact other brothers about the campaign, we hope you will respond with great enthusiasm! Every Brother will have the chance to participate in this major gift program before the April Centennial celebration, so watch your mail as packets begin to be mailed out. Thanks to all Brothers assisting in this cause and also a special thank you to Brother Jon An-derson for his help in designing the materials we are using in this effort.

- Karl Drye and Rick Daluge, Campaign for Excellence Co-Chairs

Robert Miller Gifts $1 Million to Establish Henry C. Taylor Professorship

Iota AGR Brother, Dr. Robert H. Miller #491 and his wife Vivian of Alexandria, Virginia were honored at the Agricultural and Applied Economics Scholars and Sponsors Lunch on April 15, 2015. Bob grew up on a Rock County dairy farm. In 1943, his family bought a 340-acre farm on the prairie southeast of Janesville. He gradu-

ated with honors in Agricultural Education at UW-Madison. He later entered what was then called the Agricultural Economics Department and worked with his major professor, Truman Graf, in dairy economics for both his Master’s and Doctorate degrees. His research led to a 33-year career at the USDA in Washington,

D.C., where he began as an agricultural economist in the dairy section and eventually became Director of the Tobacco & Peanuts Analysis Division. He fondly remembers his MS and PhD fieldwork at Wiscon-sin dairy farms, and the enthusiasm of several AAE professors in teaching, research and extension. He has maintained close ties with the UW-Madison Alumni Association since his time at the uni-versity, and has been a faithful donor to AAE since 1983. Two events prompted Bob and his wife Vivian to give this sig-nificant gift now: they recently sold their Rock County farm; at the same time, they learned of the Morgridge matching gift program.Of his inspiration to name the gift after Henry C. Taylor, Dr. Mill-er says, “One of Dr. Taylor’s accomplishments as first chief of the Bureau of Agricultural Economics at the USDA was to hold the first Agricultural Outlook Conference (1922) which has continued annually to this day; this was the area I worked in for much of my USDA career.” Bob and Vivian have simple yet ambitious aspirations for the Henry C. Taylor Professorship: They hope the proceeds from the fund will further AAE’s teaching, research, and extension to help maintain the department among the leading agricultural and ap-plied economics departments in the country. (Infomation from previous UW publication)

George Walter McKerrow #413, formerly of Atlanta, GA and Pinehurst, NC died at FirstHealth Moore Regional Hospital in Pinehurst. He graduated from the University of Wisconsin in Dairy Science and joined the USA Marine Corps and served 4 years during World War II as a 1st Lieutenant. In 1981 he co-founded LongHorn Steak Restaurants and moved to Atlanta, GA.

Dr. Edward (Bud) C. Naber #446, passed away February 2015 in Dublin, Ohio. Ed attended the University of Wisconsin at Madi-son and earning his B.S., M.S. and Ph. D. degrees with majors in biochemistry and poultry science. His teaching and research career began at Clemson College in SC and continued for 35 years at Ohio State University in Columbus. Dr. Naber received numerous awards for his academic activities over the years. While at Ohio State University, he was a visiting professor at the University of Wisconsin and a visiting scientist at the Institut fur Kleintierzucht in Celle, Germany. He also con-ducted academic reviews at other universities for the Cooperative State Research Service of the USDA.

Dr. Eugene Starkey #536, died November, 2014, in San Luis Obispo, California.

SEPTEMBER 2015 • 2 The Crescent

KEY IOTA CONTACTSAlpha Gamma Rho — Iota Chapter

233 Lakelawn Place Madison, WI 53703Phone: (608) 257-3871 • Fax: (608) 251-2159

Web site: www.wisconsinagr.com • e-mail: agr@stdorg.wisc.edu

Undergraduate Chapter Matthias Olson, Noble Ruler.............................................920-493-3714 Seth Schiffbauer, VNR Alumni Relations........................815-481-3582 Austin Wenck, VNR Recruitment...................................262-758-3338 Tyler Troiola, VNR Management and Operations...........262-470-8261 Timothy Stellpflug, VNR Finance..................................507-272-4536 John Faldet, VNR Scholarship........................................ 715-347-8892 James Rasmussen, VNR Planning...................................715-409-9143 Nick Troiola, VNR Membership Development...............262-470-8346 Martin Lyman, VNR Activities.........................................630-415-8374 Jake Greshik, Resident Advisor....................................608-239-2230

Active Chapter Advisors Tom Crenshaw............................................................608-263-4423 Jon Schefers................................................................320-260-5436

Alumni Corporation Jon Rasmussen, President............................................920-960-7083 Andy Mulrooney, Vice President................................. 608-412-1747 Bill Hantke, Secretary .................................................608-442-7294 2635 Arboretum Dr., Madison, WI 53713-1009, behanke@att.net Evan Schnadt, Treasurer............................................608-295-1828

Education Foundation Matt Repinski, President............................................715-498-4273 Rick Daluge, Secretary-Treasurer................................608-345-0865 5321 Fairway Drive, Madison, WI 53711

Crescent Editor Corey Geiger, Editor...................................................920-650-0294 e-mail cgeiger@hoards.com

IOTA – AGR Homecoming 2015 Iota AGR is hosting 2 venues for our AGR Homecoming Event October 17th#1 – TAILGATE on Regent Street before & after the game Matt Repinski, Nick Uglow, and Zach Lieven will host this year’s AGR Alumni Gathering at a tailgate located in the Budget Bike parking lot at 1124 Regent Street. It is next door to the McDonald’s on the corner of Mills and Regent Street. The tailgate will begin at 9:00 am and will reopen after the game for about 2 hours, or as long as everyone wants to stick around! Food will be catered by Sloppy Joe’s saloon and include pulled pork sandwiches, brats/burgers, special cheesy potatoes, pasta salad, beans, mac-n-cheese, and cookies and of course cold beverages. If it rains we will have enough tents to cover our space so please still come by, grab some food, and say hello to an old friend. We look forward to seeing everyone at the tailgate and feel free to stop by before or after the game!

- Zach Lieven #1391, 262-365-9680, lieven721@hotmail.com#2 – Chapter House Welcome after the game The Iota Chapter House welcome mat will be out to greet all alumni who would like to check out the new landscaping and stair-way down to the lake out after the football game. We will be serving refreshing beverages and snacks.

LOST CONTACT with Iota Alumni We need your HELP with any phone, e-mail or address informa-tion for these Iota Brothers. We have lost contact information for them.

Name Initiation Year Benjamin E. Arriens ‘59 Jeffery R. Burch ‘85 John F. Bussman ‘77 Timothy J. Dalton ‘95 Michael J. Kihl ‘65 Gary L. Kloth ‘72 Michael G. Ladwig ‘07 Jeffey Navarro ‘87 David L. Nelson ‘55 David A. Quade ‘76 Robert E. Rieck ‘48 Jeremiah S. Shafer ‘10 David M. Thompson ‘81 Timothy N. Udell ‘76

Please e-mail or phone me with any information you may know. Bill Hantke, Alumni Secretary behanke@att.net, 608-442-7294

Iota’s 100th Celebration is set for April 8 and 9

Over the past year, we definitely have been planning a celebra-tion befitting the 100th Anniversary of Alpha Gamma Rho’s Iota Chapter. Please reserve April 8 and 9 of 2016 on your calendars as we prepare to honor the past, celebrate the today and plan for the future. Our events captains have some wonderful activities planned that will make the weekend the most memorable one in Iota history. Friday, April 8, will be spearheaded by Brothers Scott Borgwardt, #1252, and Nick Uglow, #1343. Designed to celebrate our pledge class system of yesteryear, 19 sub-decade chairs will be calling their AGR peers to help fellow brothers get reconnected in small groups for dinner in the greater Madison area. After those smaller group dinners, Brothers Borgwardt and Uglow will ask all Brothers, their spouses or guests to come back to the Concourse around 8 p.m. In addition to a full dessert bar, the evening will feature the Soggy Prairie Boys Band to get all generations mingling. Early Saturday afternoon, April 9, will be led by Brothers Jerry Steiner, #1011, and Pete Kappelman, #1085, who will be partnering to plan sessions that include campus and house tours, educational programing focuses on “Feeding the 9 billion” and an abbreviated Founder’s Day Annual Meeting. Brothers Steiner and Kappelman has been to countless industry-leading conferences and they will no doubt plan a sessions that will be worth your trip to Madison all by itself. Saturday evening, Brothers John Cull, #744; Gordie Gasch, #798; and Lan Waddell, #802 have stepped up and tri-chair an capstone gala at the Concourse Hotel. The master of ceremonies will be the ever-entertaining Mike Hutjens, # 735. Having seen the best and not so best that banquets can offer, this experienced team will work together to create a fast-paced, yet fitting tribute to Iota’s first 100 years and celebrate the launch of our second century. For those who would like to book their rooms, The Madison Concourse Hotel will serve as base camp for our 100th Celebra-tion. Room rates are $139 (single rate) and $149 (double rate). To reserve your room, you may call 1 800 356-8293 and identify the group as “Alpha Gamma Rho 100th Anniversary Event.” For Brothers of Alpha Gamma Rho, Iota’s 100th will be a must-attend event. Mark your calendars for April 8 and 9, 2016. We will see you there.

- Corey Geiger and Bob Hagenow, Co-Chairs of the Iota’s 100th

Wedding Bells at AGR Tis the Season of Love at AGR with these Iota Brothers marry-ing or about to marry their sweethearts.

Jon Weise #1480 and Lindsay Stellmacher 6 June 2015 Phil Monson #1504 and Caley Milton 8 August 2015 Jordan Matthews #1467 and Karly Shilling 25 September 2015 Wes Stephonek #1464 & Christina Mullen 24 October 2015 Clayton Wohlk #1455 and Becky Maskal 9 January 2016 Andy Mulrooney #1483 and Sarah Ales 2016

SEPTEMBER 2015 • 3The Crescent

SEPTEMBER 2015 • 4The Crescent

AGR Iota Moving Forward – Fall 2015 Greetings, and I hope that this Crescent finds you well! I am very excited to give you an update about our progress and success over the past semester as well as the direction of the chapter. Last semester, the officer team identified four goals to develop and improve as a chapter. These included the following:

• Continue recruitment success• Improve brotherhood and new member education process• Improve financial stability and transparency• Prepare the house facility for the 100th Celebration

We have made some great strides towards accomplishing these goals and are continuing to work towards them. Over the summer, the officer team rebalanced the budget and has identified areas of potential improvement. Thank you to Brother Jared Wendt who has assisted us in the budgeting process. Prior to the start of the school year, the collegiates hosted a House Project Day that turned into a two-day event. We managed to get the house looking in great shape, with only a few projects remaining. I estimate that we have put in more than 200 hours im-proving the house since the start of August. Thank you to Brothers Gernetzke, Wendt, and Hantke for assisting us. Turning towards the fall semester, we plan to have continued recruitment success. Thanks to the collegiate recruitment commit-tee, consisting of about 10 members, I am very confident in our recruitment efforts. We have been meeting potential brothers since last spring and through the summer, identifying and attracting the best potential members. As an officer team, we have also begun to revise the new member education processes to make it more meaningful and beneficial. We are looking to include some of the resources and modules on AGRConnect. This year will be a big year as we celebrate our 100th year on the University of Wisconsin-Madison campus. I look forward to see-ing the chapter come together for what I believe will be a grand reunion. If you are in the area, please stop by the house for a lunch or dinner. We would love to have more alumni by the house to visit us and share in our brotherhood.

- Fraternally, Matthias Olson, #1578, Noble Ruler

Tim Schley is New Resident Advisor Greetings everyone! I am Tim Sch-ley #1521, from Brillion, WI, and I am pleased to announce that I am the Iota Chapter’s new Resident Ad-visor for the 2015-2016 school year. I graduated in December 2012 with a degree in Life Sciences Communi-cation and a concentration in busi-ness. Currently, I manage the website and social media platforms for Rural Mutual Insurance Company, an af-filiate of the Wisconsin Farm Bureau

Federation. The RA position is something I have had my eye on since I was a sophomore undergraduate. I remember walking into the house after class every day and wandering into the RA room on the first floor. There was always such a strong, welcoming presence to come home to, a warm smile waiting inside the door. That time for me was marked with many ups and downs. Never one to be challenged much in high school, I struggled academically early on as I adjusted to the rigors of the collegiate schedule. These struggles shook my confidence; I had to relearn who I was and what I wanted to become. Eventually, my grades improved, and I learned how to be a successful professional. I owe most of that suc-cess to AGR. I cannot thank the RAs and the rest of the house enough for the support they gave me, and it is the biggest reason why I came back to play the role myself. I can only hope to teach these men half as much as I learned over those years. AGR gave me structure, gave me a sense of accomplishment, gave me hope for a brighter future, but most of all, gave me a home. This next year will bring many challenges. The 100th anniver-sary of our founding will be both an exciting and challenging time. These men will be tested in many ways, and I will support them to the very best of my ability. Rest assured, these men will have a welcoming home.

- Fraternally yours, Br. Tim Schley #1521

IOTA AGR NEEDS YOUR HELP – HELP – HELP ! ! !

Before Iota AGR celebrates our 100th year Anniversary we need you to update your alumni files with your address, e-mail and phone contact information.

EVERYONE please e-mail or phone me with your contact information so we can keep you informed of this once in a lifetime Iota AGR event.

Bill Hanke - Alumni Secretary - Iota AGR Chapter - 608-442-7294 - behanke@att.net

SEPTEMBER 2015 • 5The CrescentSummer Internship = A Glimpse

of The Future My name is Derek Donnelly #1580, and I am a senior, double majoring in Agricultural and Applied Economics and Dairy Science from Hager City, Wisconsin. This summer I had the opportunity to intern with Winfield Solutions as a Forage Management Intern. In this role, I covered Wisconsin, Southeastern Minnesota, and part of Iowa, working with growers and agronomists in the region. I had a lot of fun working on three forage projects this summer. This internship was an incredible learning opportunity as I met many people and had the privilege of working with a great man-ager on some fun projects. I loved talking with growers this sum-mer when I was at their farms or at events such as AnswerPlots. I enjoyed being able to conduct projects on growers’ fields and then talk with them about what I found! This internship provided me the opportunity to work with growers and get an idea of what a career like this may be like on a day-to-day basis. I love forages and dairy nutrition and can see myself doing something with both potentially as a career down the road. Agronomy and nutrition are also vital to a dairy operation, and if they all work together, it is a win-win for everyone involved.

- Brother Derek Donnelly, ddonnelly@wisc.edu

Summer Internship In Norway

This summer, I spent 12 weeks in eastern Norway working as a marketing and communications intern for Geno, a dairy cattle ge-netics company that promotes crossbreeding with Norwegian Red. My main focus during my internship was to develop a position for the company to enter the U.S. market. I really enjoyed gaining an international perspective and experience in the dairy cattle industry. While in Norway, my family visited me for two weeks. We took some time to tour around Norway, seeing many of the iconic fjords and mountains, and some of the beautiful cities like Bergen, Stavan-ger, and Oslo. One unique experience that I shared with my father was finding the farm that my great-great-great grandfather farmed before taking his family and immigrating to the United States and starting the family farm that we continue to farm today. Returning to the land of my ancestors was a very special experience that I was glad to share with my family. - Matt Olson, Noble Ruler

Spit & Polish at the AGR Chapter House

It was a busy summer on the shores of Lake Mendota at the Alpha Gamma Rho house as brothers worked on various projects to improve the Chapter House. Jackson Re-mer, the summer house manager along with Brothers Winkel, Wil-lems, & Troiola tackled many projects that fit into their busy sched-ule. Some of the main projects they accom-

plished included caulking bathroom areas, painting, vent cleaning, carpet shampooing and other projects to improve the appearance of the outside of our house. Overall, they took a lot of pride in the state of our home this summer and hope to continue this through-out our school year. On Saturday August 29th, the brothers of AGR worked on improving and maintaining the house. Some of the jobs included replacing ceiling tiles damaged by the air conditioning, removing vines growing along the house, cleaning brush from the parking lot, spackling and painting walls, a deep cleaning of the kitchen and cut-ting up the trees removed with the new landscaping. Special thanks to the alumni Bill & Leslie Hantke, Jared Wendt, and Peter Ger-netzke, for helping the undergraduates with these projects.

- Seth Schiffbauer, VNR – Alumni Relations, schiffbauer@wisc.edu

The NEW Iota Landscape Design Is Blooming

Finally, our new lakeside landscape is green, growing and blooming after McKay Landscaping installed new plants, shrubs, trees and an enlarged lakeside brick paver patio, along with a new stairway down to the lake in early August. The City of Madison gener-ously paid AGR for their new sewer easement and our existing landscaping, which was destroyed during the installation of the new city sewer line in the summer of 2014. We are fortunate to enjoy one of the nicest fraternity lake-front properties on the lake. Now it’s party time at AGR. -Bill Hantke, Alumni Secretary

SEPTEMBER 2015 • 6The CrescentCentennial Celebration

AGR – IOTA RECALLS ITS IMPRESSIVE HISTORY In the 100 years since the installation of the Iota Chapter of Al-pha Gamma Rho at the University of Wisconsin, there have been many impressive and meaningful events that have been part of the lives of its more than 1600 members. Throughout the year leading up to our 100th celebration next April, the Iota Crescent is high-lighting some of the more memorable AGR events that occurred during this past century. The last two AGR Crescents featured the years 1917 to 1940 and 1940 to 1969.

Part III: 1969 to 1991 LIFE AT LAKELAWN PLACE Zoning issues in the Summit Avenue neighborhood precluded much-needed expansion of the house so in 1969 the Alumni Corporation committed to pur-chasing a house on Lakelawn Place and a building fund was established. The house was purchased for $180,000, over $45,000 was spent renovating and refurbishing it, and it became “home” in the fall of 1969. The Summit Avenue house had been fond-ly known to many as “The House on the Hill”; the photo below taken in 1969 shows “The Last Stand on the Hill”. Look closely and you might see someone you know. (Brother Bill Hantke is standing just to the left of Mike Bohman’s motorcycle.) The Iota Educational Foundation was established in 1969 and

progress continued on the Building Fund Drive. The house was full with 50 members and in 1970 AGR was tapped as one of the two best fraternities out of 31 on campus. Twenty-two actives were members of honorary fraternities. In July 1972 the Board ac-cepted an offer from a U.W. Cooperative to purchase the Summit Avenue house for $70,000. It remains a co-op to this day. The Rho-Mate program was established in the fall of 1972– 11 girls,3 pin-mates, and the chapter sweetheart comprised the first

group after a fall rush similar to the one used for pledges. It was hoped that the Rho-Mates would serve as big sisters for the pledges and also act as hostesses for events such as Homecoming and Founders Day. Over the next 27 years the Rho-Mate program flourished – several of the young ladies married AGRs and are now mem-bers of the Iota “family”. In the fall of 1973 an interesting tradi-tion started between the active chapter and UW Athletic Director Elroy “Crazy Legs” Hirsch. Hirsch wanted to do something to add some color to the Homecoming foot-

ball game so he decided on the idea of blow-ing up thousands of balloons and letting them loose before the kickoff. AGRs stepped up to the task and the tradition of blowing up 5,000+ balloons at 5:00 a.m. Homecoming morning was begun! This tradition lasted eight years. Continued on page

The first Rho-Mate group

Spring Formal - 1969

Other notable happenings during this time ……• In 1971 the Corporation Board set up annual alumni dues of

$10 per year and a lifetime membership of $100. • A full-page ad in the Spring ‘70 Crescent promoted double

rooms for rent at AGR for the summer for a mere $75 per 8-week session! ($100 for a single room) The weekly rate was $10 for a double room!!!

• In 1977 the alumni donated $150 to the active chapter to set up a scholarship fund, thus starting the very first scholarship banquet.

• In 1978 the wife of AGR alum Guy Honold donated a beau-tiful watercolor in his memory after Guy lost his life in a ca-noeing accident the previous summer. This lovely painting still hangs in the house.

• The 1,000th Iota initiate was recognized in 1978 and in 1979 the very first initiate, George Chandler, passed away.

• During the 1985 school year the actives built a beautiful deck onto the house overlooking Lake Mendota.

Coming in the next issue: Part IV: LIFE AT LAKELAWN PLACE – 1991 to present - Submitted by Leslie Ladd Hantke

SEPTEMBER 2015 • 7The CrescentIota AGR

Seeking Quality Members Iota’s Recruitment Committee has been working very hard to search through the UW & CALS student lists seeking to find the best AGRs possible. We currently have 18-20 young men who are at the tops of our lists with diverse backgrounds as well as different outlooks on agriculture. Many of the recruits think of agriculture in a different way than others in the past. Those I have talked with believe that agriculture needs to tailor its methods to fit with the ideas of the consumer. I believe that is very important for future farmers to understand because essentially they decide what products get through to market.  Currently, our goal is to have 18-20 initiates, which means that the committee and I have a lot of work to do to try and find more candidates so we have the opportunity to select the best of those who are interested.  I feel very confident that we will achieve our goal because I have been blessed with such a great recruitment committee that is willing to share the work as well as the responsibility. I hope to find more AGRs like them. Do you know of a quality potential AGR member ?? Please let me know.

- Austin Wenck, VNR Recruitment, awenck@wisc.edu

New Gourmet Chef in the Kitchen at Iota

Our longtime chef, Earl Krueger retired at the end of last semester. After an interview process we chose Hans Verick to fill the position. Originally from West Dallas, TX, Hans came to Madison nearly 30 years ago and has been cooking for several UW sororities. AGR is the first fraternity he has cooked for and he says that he has had to substantially increase portion sizes along with having 10 pounds of bacon in the refrigerator at all times. When asked what his first impression of AGR was, he replied, “The house has a very cheerful environment. Also, this fraternity is different from the stereotypical frat”. The house has been extremely pleased with Hans’ cooking and look forward to having him create tasty meals for us throughout the year.

- Seth Schiffbauer, VNR Alumni Relationsschiffbauer@wisc.edu

Continued from page 6

Noble Ruler Larry Capaul accepts Laurie Honold’s gift

Alpha Gamma RhoIota Chapter233 Lake Lawn PlaceMadison, Wisconsin 53703

“Return Service Requested”

Iota Calendar of Events - Fall 2015

September 29-October 3 World Dairy Expo

October 17 Homecoming Event 26 Scholarship Banquet