This is one race where cows are welcome—or, rather, people dressed in cow suits.
In just three years, the Dairy Dash has become a campus institution that imbues health and fun times with a serious purpose. The event is held in honor of John Klossner, a CALS sophomore who died of a head trauma following an accident at the 2013 Wisconsin State Fair. All proceeds from the 5K run are donated to the Brain Injury Association.
“John was a gregarious soul who always enjoyed a good laugh. He made friends easily. People naturally gravitated toward him,” recalls his older sister, Kristin Klossner.
Klossner was making his mark at UW–Madison, in particular through his service as a member of Alpha Gamma Rho, the largest social-professional agricultural fraternity on campus. Now marking 100 years at UW–Madison, Alpha Gamma Rho promotes academics along with providing leadership and networking opportunities and fostering fellowship among its members.
Nothing embodies Alpha Gamma Rho’s mission more than the Dairy Dash, which members conceived of and run in Klossner’s honor. Each May over the past three years, some 300 people have turned up to raise money for the Brain Injury Association and honor Klossner’s spirited and giving life. The bovine attire donned by some runners celebrates Klossner’s passion for cows.
Alpha Gamma Rho has been a fixture on campus since April 29, 1916, and to date has had some 1,650 young men as members. The fraternity has been home to some of the top agriculture students on campus—students who continually step up to volunteer and advance agriculture.
One example is the Competitive Edge, an event founded more than 40 years ago to help incoming students and their parents become acquainted with campus and learn about the opportunities available at CALS. The Competitive Edge and other Alpha Gamma Rho scholarship events award some $20,000 in scholarships each year. That number should grow as the fraternity embarks on a $1 million fundraising campaign to expand its educational endowment.
To celebrate the fraternity’s rich history and bright future, more than 375 members and their guests—traveling from 24 states and Canada— gathered at the Madison Concourse Hotel in Madison this past April to renew their collective vision for the future.
Meanwhile, current members of Alpha Gamma Rho have added a deep and meaningful chapter in their history with the establishment of the Dairy Dash.
“After losing John, I learned how close of a family the agriculture industry is,” says Kristin Klossner. “I think he is with us every time we are at the Dairy Dash. We love what the AGR brothers have done and continue to do. The Dairy Dash helps to bring people together.”
