Alpha Gamma Rho

Alum holds top position in Alpha Gamma Rho, recalls fraternity’s beginnings at State

Cal Willemssen ’68 can attest that accepting opportunities often leads a person in some unexpected directions. For Willemssen, that direction took him from a family farm in Clear Lake to the Alpha Gamma Rho grand presidency, the highest-ranking national office in the fraternity.

‘By happenstance’

Willemssen’s involvement in AGR began in 1965, one year after the organization was chartered at SDSU. He chose to attend State because “It was close, and it had an agriculture program.” Willemssen intended to return to the family farm after he earned his degree in mechanized agriculture. He also minored in speech communications.

“I’ve always been an advocate for the ability to communicate well,” said Willemssen. “I thought that would be useful to me regardless of the future I pursued.”

As he began his studies at State, Willemssen was approached by a hometown friend who suggested he consider becoming involved in Alpha Gamma Rho fraternity—the first social Greek organization on campus. With encouragement from acquaintances in AGR, Willemssen decided to join in the fall of his sophomore year. He was the 96th member at SDSU. Today, more than a thousand Jackrabbit men have become initiated members of AGR.

“I joined entirely by happenstance,” he said. “We were proud of the fact that we were the first fraternity on campus, but there’s quite a bit of responsibility to be first.”

Willemssen credits several forces with helping the fraternity find its footing those first years—from housemothers and advisers to the members themselves.

To make better men

“It was unique, living together with a group of guys who had a common interest in agriculture. I came from a little town in South Dakota and needed some guidance to live in an expanding world,” said Willemssen. “The variety of activities we were involved in were a solid foundation upon which to live the rest of our lives. The basic premise of Alpha Gamma Rho is to make better men, and I think they did that with me.”

Willemssen has fond memories from his time in AGR at State. The fraternity members challenged one another to be involved on campus. Together, they formed intramural sports teams and were active in Little International. Willemssen met his wife of 48 years at AGR’s annual Pink Rose Formal.

He still found time for his studies, of course. In pursuing a speech minor, Willemssen found a passion for the subject, supported by his fundamentals instructor, Max Huss. Huss suggested he return as a graduate assistant after finishing his bachelor’s degree. Following a brief period of military service, Willemssen eventually received a master’s degree in speech communications.

Disengaging and reengaging

Even after an enriching experience as an active member, AGR national office wasn’t on Willemssen’s mind postgraduation.

“We graduate, and we become a bit disengaged from our college fraternity, focusing more on career development and family life,” said Willemssen. He began work in radio and television for the agriculture extension service, became a staff person for the Sioux Falls Chamber of Commerce and had a long career with The First National Bank in Sioux Falls.

Willemssen reengaged with AGR by happenstance. In 2004, the fraternity celebrated its national centennial. With this milestone, 350 “Brothers of the Century” were named out of AGR’s more than 60,000 initiated members. Willemssen was one of them.

“How I was selected to that, I don’t know,” he admits. “I have no idea who nominated me. A former grand president presented me with the award and asked me to be involved in national leadership.”

Willemssen was nearing retirement and decided he had the time to explore options. “AGR always encouraged volunteer activity, and I believe when you have the opportunity to help others, you need to,” he said. “The organization meant so much to me earlier in life, and I was interested in helping to create the same opportunities for young men in agriculture today.”

The grand presidency

Though Willemssen had interest in becoming the fraternity’s grand president, he didn’t actively pursue the position at first.

“When I decided I wanted to do it, I also decided I would wait to be nominated,” he said. “When I joined as an undergraduate, I never dreamt I’d be in that position.”

Willemssen was elected as the Alpha Gamma Rho grand president at its national convention in 2014 and reelected in 2015. His term will conclude this August.

“By the time an AGR graduates, I hope he would have expanded his view of the world. I hope he will see that there is more to agriculture and more to life than his college campus or his hometown, even if he plans to go back there. There are tremendous opportunities in agriculture,” he said.

Madelin Mack