To continue on with the March Maddness of road tripping, first a sisters weekend in Boilermaker territory, then off to celebrate St. Patrick's Day at the Chi-Rish Fest and lastly back to Michigan State University (aka my ole' stomping grounds) for the MSU Block & Bridle Recognition Banquet. Block & Bridle is a livestock club for college students; throughout the year the B&B members organize livestock shows, share agriculture's story with other students at the university and attend conferences to learn about the industry. As a member I made several contacts and learned how to become a spokesperson for the livestock industry. The recognition banquet recognizes students for their outstanding success within the club, the past and upcoming livestock & meat evaluation teams and honors a special individual who has played a role in the livestock industry and who has positively influenced Michigan State University. This years honoree was Ken Guens, the Purebred Beef Center Faculty Coordinator. To me, Ken was more then just the faculty coordinator while I worked at the PBB; he became a great mentor, role model and second dad to me. Fortunately, I also became good friends with his daughter, Christina and even got to hang out with his wife Deb. To this day (not aging myself or anything, I've only been out of school two years) Ken and I are pretty close; emailing, phone calls or catching up at cattle shows. He was there everytime we did well at a show with Miley, my favorite MSU cow! Our annual "tradition" is decorating for the Fall Fest cattle sale, remember our professional cattle sale decorating (we may even go into business together)!
I wouldn't have missed hearing Ken's talk for anything, as he inspired students and explained how he got to where he is today. And even better... we hit up the Whisky Barrel, one of our (even Ken's) favorite bars. Great to catch up with some of my best pals! My cattle/college friends are the best; whenever we get together it's just like old times! Hopefully we'll get in a summer reunion! Sorry no pictures, we were all to busy taking, drinking beer and having fun!
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| Ken & I proudly posing in front of the sale ring! Remember these fancy pumpkins? |
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