In This Issue
- Alumni Return for Annual Ag Arama Event
- Ag Arama True Grit Award Goes to Craig Roerick
- Alumnus Gerald Landby, '82, Receives National Award
- Beverly Vogt, '05, Receives Outstanding Dietetic Technician of the Year
- Alumnus Nate Emery, '06, Wins Best Paper Award
- Endowed Scholarship Established by Walter, '57, and Elinor Fehr
- Class of 1968 Plans 40th Class Reunion during Homecoming 2008
Alumni Return for Annual Ag Arama Event
 Ag Arama took place recently at the University of Minnesota, Crookston in the University Teaching and Outreach Center. Alumni and friends enjoyed the fun and friendly student contests, tested their skills in games for all and socialized at the Irishman's Shanty.
Ag Arama, a tradition that dates back to 1976, is held the last weekend in January. This year's event, the 33rd annual, was dedicated to alumnus and former equine instructor at the U of M, Crookston, Lyle Wick, '74.
Ag Arama True Grit Award Goes to Craig Roerick
 Craig Roerick, Upsala, Minn., received the True Grit Award, the most coveted of all Ag Arama awards. The True Grit Award is dedicated to Todd Opsahl, a student in 1973-74. Most of the students and faculty around Todd did not know that he was suffering from terminal leukemia, a disease that took his life shortly after he left college. Despite this condition, Todd was extremely active in campus activities, especially in the Agriculture Division where he studied animal science. In his memory, the True Grit award is presented annually to the student who best demonstrates the spirit of Todd Opsahl in active participation and in encouraging others to participate.
Past recipients of the True Grit award attending this year's event were Gretchen Smeby, '07; Alison Stone, '06; Josh Johnson, '05; and Julie Schermerhorn, '97.
This year's award for all around showmanship, the Round Robin winner, was Kari Hendrickx, New York Mills, Minn. Hendrickx was also crowned the 2008 Ag Arama queen along with Stephen Roerick, Upsala, Minn., who was crowned king. Nicole Veres, Random Lake, Wis., was crowned princess and Kerry Fredrich, New Holstein, Wis., was this year's prince.
Alumnus Gerald Landby, '82, Receives National Award
 The Sports Turf Managers Association (STMA) named Carroll College's Nelson Stadium the 2007 STMA College and University Soccer Field of the Year. U of M, Crookston alumnus, Gerald Landby, '82, Carroll College Director of Grounds, accepted the award at the STMA National Conference in Phoenix, Ariz., recently.
In 1992, STMA established the Field of the Year Awards to recognize the outstanding fields and commitment to excellence of STMA members. Carroll President Tom Trebon and Athletic Director Bruce Parker said that "this award is an accurate reflection of Gerald Landby's commitment to our stadium playing surface for the benefit of our student athletes, both women's soccer and football. Gerald and his staff are great ambassadors of Carroll College through their efforts on our campus grounds and our fields."
Landby graduated from the U of M, Crookston in 1982 with a landscape, turf and grounds degree. He received his bachelor's degree in landscape management from Montana State University-Bozeman and has worked at Carroll College in Helena, Mont., for the past nine years. His parents are long-time Crookston residents, Norm, '55, and Ilene Landby.
Beverly Vogt Receives Outstanding Dietetic Technician of the Year by the American Dietetic Association
University of Minnesota, Crookston alumna Beverly Vogt, Armour, S.D., has been named the Outstanding Dietetic Technician of the Year by the American Dietetic Association. Vogt, a 2005 graduate of the U of M, Crookston, worked to complete her associate degree in dietetic technician online while living and working in South Dakota.
Vogt was honored at an awards luncheon at the annual South Dakota Association of Healthcare Organizations meeting held in Sioux Falls recently. The Organization is the state-wide professional/trade association representing and serving health care organizations across the State.| more
Alumnus Nate Emery, '06, Wins Best Paper Award at annual meeting of North Dakota Chapter of The Wildlife Society
 Nate Emery, a 2006 graduate of the U of M, Crookston, was the winner of the best presentation award for a student paper at the annual meeting of the North Dakota Chapter of The Wildlife Society held recently in Grand Forks, N.D. Emery is currently a graduate student in the biology department at the University of North Dakota (UND).
The title of Emery's paper was Spring and Summer Reproductive Ecology of Female Greater Prairie Chickens in Northwestern Minnesota and Updates on Translocation to Wisconsin. Co-authors were Daniel Svedarsky, Ph.D., of the U of M, Crookston; Ashly Steinke, a graduate student at the University of Wisconsin in Madison; and Brett Goodwin, Ph.D., of the University of North Dakota. Svedarsky and Goodwin are Emery's graduate advisors.
Emery's study is being carried out in Northwest Minnesota and involves trapping female greater prairie chicken in the spring or summer and attaching radios in order to follow their movements during the nesting and brood-rearing season. | more
Endowed Scholarship Established by Walter, '57, and Elinor Fehr
A recent gift of more than $25,000 has been established to endow a scholarship to benefit students in agronomy at the University of Minnesota, Crookston. The Walter and Elinor Fehr Scholarship in Agronomic Science was established by Professor Walter and Elinor Fehr of Ames, Iowa. Walter Fehr, Ph.D., graduated in 1957 from the Northwest School of Agriculture, the residential high school located on the Crookston campus from 1906-68, and currently teaches at Iowa State University where he is also involved in soybean research.
"We chose to support the U of M, Crookston with this gift due to the professional manner in which other family gifts have been administered and to support students in this area of study," Walter Fehr said. | more
Class of 1968 Plans 40th Class Reunion during Homecoming 2008
UMC's Class of 1968, with special invitation to members of the Class of 1969, are finalizing plans for their 40th class reunion! They'll be celebrating in conjunction with Homecoming 2008 festivities September 26-27. An informational mailing was recently sent to members of the classes. Please contact Rose Ulseth (rulseth@umn.edu) or call 218-281-8439 if you were missed.
Do you know of others who might want to subscribe to this e-newsletter? Send their names and e-mail addresses to Sue Dwyer (sdwyer@umn.edu).
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Walter Fehr, a 1957 graduate of the Northwest School of Agriculture (NWSA), grew up on a farm near East Grand Forks, Minn. He attended the University of Minnesota where he was introduced to plant breeding by Dr. Jean Lambert, a barley and soybean breeder in the Department of Agronomy and Plant Genetics. He served as an undergraduate research intern and was given the opportunity to begin his graduate research project during his senior year. Fehr completed his bachelor's degree in agronomy in 1961 and his master's degree in plant breeding and genetics in 1962. In 1962, Fehr and his wife, Elinor, began a 2-year term at the Congo Polytechnique Institute in the Republic of Congo where he taught agronomy. They returned to the United States in 1964, and he began his Ph.D. program in the Department of Agronomy at Iowa State University. Fehr completed his doctorate degree in 1967 and became an assistant professor in the Department of Agronomy at Iowa State University. He currently is a Charles F. Curtiss Distinguished Professor of Agriculture and the director of the Office of Biotechnology. 
Lyle Wick, '74, graduated with a degree in light horse management. He went on to the University of Minnesota for his bachelor's degree in agricultural education, and then to the University of North Dakota for his master's degree in vocational education. 