11月. 16, 2023

Maryville couple contributing toward development of micro-creamery

A longtime Maryville couple with ties to 和记棋牌娱乐 and the Northwest Foundation is helping increase opportunities available to future agriculture students through their financial support of the University’s planned micro-creamery.

Rex Brod, a 1982 graduate of Northwest and member of the Northwest 基金会董事会他和他的妻子薇姬已经加入了大学 户人家 社会, 一群捐赠者提供25美元的礼物,000 or greater in support of the 农业学习中心. 用他们的礼物, the Brods are supporting the construction of a micro-creamery inside the 农业学习中心.

“和记棋牌娱乐非常感谢Rex和Vicki, their support of the 农业科学学院 and all they’ve done for Northwest,” Dr. Rod Barr, the director of Northwest’s 农业科学学院, said. “Rex has been a part of our advisory committee for several years, but being able to financially support what we’ve done at the Ag Learning Center is always a great thing to help our students. It’s going to provide opportunities for our students to learn, especially on the food science side. We’re excited about that, and we’re truly appreciative to have a family like the Brods support that.”

去年夏天, Northwest’s Board of Regents approved plans for the micro-creamery, 将被安置在和记棋牌娱乐的 农业学习中心 在R处.T. 赖特农场，给予 农业科学学院 an opportunity to enhance profession-based learning for its students and the potential to one day offer milk and other dairy products to consumers.

Northwest maintains a dairy herd of approximately 70 cattle 在R处.T. 赖特农场, which is located north of the Maryville campus and used to teach agriculture students about dairy health, 管理和收集. 西北缺乏加工设备, 然而, means students’ profession-based learning ends after the collected milk leaves the farm.

拟议中的项目将弥补这一差距, allowing students and regional producers to experience the entire lifecycle of dairy production, 从畜群管理和采集到加工, 粮食生产, safety testing and potentially even the marketing and retail of fluid milk, 冰淇淋, 黄油, 奶酪或其他乳制品.

另外, the University wants to help improve the state’s dairy industry by offering expanded education and training opportunities for regional producers and agriculture students. 协助微型乳品厂采购设备, 西北航空公司获得250美元,000 from the 密苏里州 Agricultural and Small Business Development Authority (MASBDA) through the Show-Me Entrepreneurial Grants for Agriculture (SEGA) program.

The Brods were motivated to support the micro-creamery project with a gift to the Northwest Foundation not only as a show of appreciation for their long-standing connection with the University but also because of their passion and interest in supporting agriculture initiatives.

“Hopefully it will give more opportunities, especially in agriculture,” Rex said. “The hands-on experience of working with a dairy or livestock or even agronomy and dealing with plant science – that's invaluable. So to be able to help someone along on their walk and maybe their love of agriculture is important to us.”

Rex graduated from Northwest with a Bachelor of Science degree in 农业经济学 and was active in agriculture organizations as well as the Tau Kappa Epsilon fraternity as an undergraduate student.

在进入和记棋牌娱乐之前, he developed a passion for agriculture while growing up on a small diversified farm in southeast Nebraska, 他的家人在那里抚养注册泽西.

Rex says he was attracted to Northwest after earning an associate degree at a Nebraska community college. When he had trouble securing employment without a four-year degree, some of his classmates encouraged him to consider pursuing his bachelor’s degree at Northwest.

He recalls being swayed by the beauty of the campus and the welcoming community in addition to the ways faculty and staff invested in their students. 雷克斯的学术顾问是博士. Alfred Kelley, a Northwest faculty member from 1975 until retiring in 2017. 

“He said, ‘When you get your four-year degree, it’ll open up so many more doors,’” Rex said. “他花了时间和兴趣. (在西北)有很多这样的事情，而且一直都是这样. The faculty always has a sincere interest in their students, and I’ve really appreciated that.”

雷克斯在圣路易斯市的美洲银行开始他的职业生涯. 约瑟夫, 密苏里州, and – through ownership and company name changes – has maintained his place in rural banking in northwest 密苏里州. 如今，他是美国通用汽车公司的市场总裁.S. 玛丽维尔的银行.

The Brods have lived in Maryville for 28 years and raised four children around the University campus. Vicki has worked in education for the last 15 years and currently is the registrar at Maryville High School. 他们的女儿, 汉娜布洛德, 是2018届毕业生吗?, 他们的儿子, 马克·亨德里克斯, is employed at Northwest as the university events scheduling coordinator.

Further extending the family’s legacy with Northwest, Vicki’s grandmother graduated from
Northwest and went on to teach in rural Andrew County, 密苏里州, while Vicki’s
祖父在家里的农场干活. 薇琪的姐姐和哥哥也是这所大学的校友.

为支持大学捐款, 包括微型乳品店, 联系西北基金会，电话660.562.1248或浏览 hsozhb.sh-fyz.com/GiveOnline.