Alpha Gamma Rho - University of Florida

3 ALPHA GAMMA CHAPTER G rowing up, Elder M. Sumner '61 knew nothing about the Alpha Gamma Rho fraternity. "They recruited me in high school and turned out to be country boys like me, so I never left!" Joining an agricultural brotherhood was meaningful for Elder, and before long his brothers, Sidney L. Sumner '04 and Louis "Wayne" Sumner '65, and cousin, James "Dan" Sumner '64, joined Alpha Gamma as well. "I left home at 17 and became a freshman in the big city," Wayne said. "ΑΓΡ helped me grow up in a hurry." The family brotherhood continued years later with Sid's son, Wade '89, and Elder's sons, Jeff '90 and Mike '93, each inspired by their family background. "Being part of the same fraternity as Dad was an easy choice," Jeff said, "and having Wade already there created an immediate sense of family and comfort." Although the Sumner family's individual levels of involvement have varied based on life and careers, they all decided to contribute to the new house with a family gift, repaying the brotherhood for all it has given them. Elder notes that Alpha Gamma's influence on the family as a whole—and for many of them, their careers as well—has been enormous. He has had a varied career path including farm credit, real estate, and beef cattle, and to this day still does business with his ΑΓΡ brothers. Dan, who also worked in beef as well as a detention deputy and firearms instructor, added, "Being around people in all phases of agriculture made me want to stay in the industry for many years." Jeff, who owns and runs a small engineering/consulting practice, also spent a few years doing agricultural work in the public sector and realized that Alpha Gamma brothers are heavily ingrained in both Tallahassee and statewide politics. Sid was inducted into the Florida Agriculture Hall of Fame in 2012 after a career in beef cattle production and forage management; he was also involved in the "beef cattle check-off" program as well as restaurant marketing in support of the beef industry. Wayne, now retired from the meat business, gave one word to describe how ΑΓΡ impacted his career: "Positively!" Mike traveled the world, working as a scuba instructor and commercial fisher before settling down in real estate. "Alpha Gamma gave me lots of good lifelong friends," he said. "I loved it all, particularly the fellowship and road trips for away games." Wade felt that his ΑΓΡ experience was a valuable confidence booster: "I have great memories of new friends, adventures, responsibility, and independence. The fraternity affords potentially valuable connections as well." "Our experiences have had more similarities than differences, except for our levels of involvement after graduation," Sid said of the Sumners' fraternal connection. Those able to visit the chapter in recent years all praised the active chapter's high quality and accomplishments, such as making the Dean's List. The Sumner family gift is their way of ensuring the Alpha Gamma brotherhood thrives in its new house and keeps producing future leaders. "It's my small payback for what ΑΓΡ has meant to us; I don't think anybody else has had this much family," Elder said. Dan added that preserving a network of agriculture students is especially important. "I would ask brothers to think back on what the house and brotherhood meant to them," Jeff said. "Everyone has a different answer to that question, and the answer should drive their willingness to give." In their spare time, the majority of the Sumners enjoy hunting, fishing, and other outdoor activities with family and fraternity brothers. They look forward to future generations joining the brotherhood as well. "Being involved with the brothers of ΑΓΡ has been among the greatest experiences of my life," Sid said. Raised by Alpha Gamma Why the Sumner Family Gives Back to AΓP Elder M. Sumner '61 with his grandson, Emmett Sumner Sidney L. Sumner '04 James "Dan" Sumner '64 Wade Sumner '89 Jeff Sumner '90 Mike Sumner '93 Luke Feagley '19 Lake Placid, Fla. Weston Rayburn '19 Fort Myers, Fla. Stephen Singleton '19 Gainesville, Fla. WELCOME, NEW BROTHERS Website agruf.org Undergraduate Facebook @AGRUF Twitter @AGRUF Alumni Facebook Alpha Gamma Chapter Alumni of Alpha Gamma Rho Stay Connected with Alpha Gamma Online! f l f Louis "Wayne" Sumner '65

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