Ag Alumni | Black Hawk College

2012 Ag Alumni Banquet

2011-2012 BHE Labs and Activities

2012 ABCA Banquet Report »

The annual Agri-Business Club Alumni [ABCA] Meeting & Banquet of Black Hawk College East Campus was Saturday, Feb. 4, 2012 at Wise Guys in Princeton, Ill.

There were 102 ABCA alumni members and guests who enjoyed the buffet meal which was preceded by the social hour. Gary Raye from Princeton, an Elvis Presley impersonator entertained the group which later danced to the music of Rodeo Drive. A live auction and a basket raffle took place during the evening to help raise money for the ABCA which help fund activities for the East Campus Agriculture Program raising $3,358.

Awards for the evening were presented to Sue Schafer, a 1994 horse science major, as the Outstanding Ag Alumni; Deanna Hoge, Friends of ABCA, and Joe Orwig for his two years as Chairman of the ABCA.

Special guests were Dr. & Mrs. Thomas Baynum, President of BHC; Chanda Dowell, Vice President of the East Campus, B .J. McCullum, Assistant Dean of Student Services and coach of the East Campus men’s basketball team; Liz Breedlove, BH Foundation Executive Director and her husband Dan; and Dave Clarke, Kewanee Star Courier who incidentally was the initial recipient of the Friends of ABCA Award.

For the business portion of the program, the bylaw changes were approved; Drew Cotton’s update of Ag Faculty activities; Nick Reike, Agri-Business Club President’s update on their activities; announcement of the ABCA affiliation with the Black Hawk College East Foundation in order to have the 501C-3 designation for future donations to the ABCA; Liz Breedlove’s comments on the affiliation; and the election of officers for the 2012-13 year. The newly elected officers are: Dennis Aupperle, Chairman, Ashlee Harkey, Vice Chairman; Kindra Callahan, Secretary, and Andrew Bergeson, Treasurer. Nikki Klein and Renee Gradert were elected directors for three-year terms while Kim Stevens and Brooke Byers were elected as directors for one-year terms.

The Kewanee Evening Garden Club members were diligent in handling the registration tasks. Jon R. Wolf, newly elected Executive Secretary, and Eldon R. “Bud” Aupperle, Associate Executive Secretary and the ABCA Board were in charge of the annual meeting and banquet.

Submitted by, Bud Aupperle

2011-2012
Award-winning teacher named BHE Outstanding Ag Alumnus
Deanna Hoge wins BHE Friend of Ag Alumni award
by Dave Clarke, Star Courier

Help find lost alumni
Try as we might, it is an enormous task to keep updated addresses for the hundreds of BHE ag graduates. You, as fellow alumni, are our best resource when it comes to tracking down current addresses (and sometimes name changes) for your classmates and friends. If you know the current address of anyone on this list, please e-mail it to: wolfj@bhc.edu. We would like to communicate Ag Alumni activities to them. Thanks, Jon

Lost Ag Alumni List

If you have recently moved, please submit your new mailing address online by clicking here.

ABC funds help support student learning and needs on East Campus
At its March 2010 meeting, the Agri-Business Club Alumni board of directors approved funding for the following projects and initiatives:

Installing wireless Internet access point in the Ag Arena to enable students and instructors to access online resources and materials
Purchasing new projection unit for Room 2-107, a computer lab used by ag faculty
Purchasing a piano key for the college’s new piano in an effort to support a college-wide initiative
Providing an annual donation to the Illinois FFA Foundation

At the September 2011 meeting, the Agri-Business Club Alumni board of directors approved funding for the following projects and initiatives:

Covering the cost of a bus to take students to the Farm Progress Show in Decatur, Ill.
Donating funds to pay for the band at the equine fundraising Boot Scootin’ Barn Dance and BBQ
Paying for the awards at the BHE Livestock Judging Contest

Thank you for your past help and support. I continue to look forward to seeing each of you at the Annual Ag Alumni Banquet the held the first Saturday in February. Details on the banquet can be found in this newsletter.