Honoring selfless leadership: New endowment fund established in honor of WSGA’s Jim Magagna
Wyoming Stock Growers Association (WSGA) Executive Vice President Jim Magagna has been at the helm for 27 years, and in honor of his hard work, decades of service and selfless contributions, the Jim Magagna Ranch Management and Ag Leadership Endowment Fund has been established.
The endowment was announced by former National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA) President Mark Eisele from Cheyenne and University of Wyoming (UW) College of Agriculture, Life Sciences and Natural Resources Dean Kelly Crane during WSGA’s annual Summer Cattle Industry Convention and Trade Show, which was held at the UW Conference Center in Laramie June 2-4.
Sparking an idea
“As many of you know, we have been on a journey to launching a new undergraduate program, the Ranch Management and Agricultural Leadership program, this fall,” Crane said during a banquet on the second night of the convention. “It’s been a success. We have a good cohort of students, and we are really proud of the program.”
Crane went on to note it is the first time since he’s been with the university that he has seen a program explicitly developed in response to the needs of the workforce and industry.
He also noted two of the fundamental pillars of the program are to help students connect with industry and to help them develop sound leadership skills.
“Our goal is to train the next generation of ranch managers, natural resource managers, ag business leaders and community leaders,” he said.
Eisele shared, as president of NCBA, he had the opportunity to travel to a lot of different places, meet a lot of different people and see a lot of different things.
“I got to thinking about the people, particularly those in Wyoming who have spread out. I call them alumni, but they are disciples. They are leaders. In fact, Public Lands Council Executive Director and Director of NCBA’s Government Affairs Kaitlynn Glover called it ‘the worldwide takeover by Wyoming.’ And she’s not too far off the mark,” he laughed.
“We have all done our part, made our contributions, worked hard and strived to succeed, but there has been a common denominator, someone who has continually pushed us along – Jim Magagna is that guy,” he added.
Creating the endowment
Eisele and Crane explained, through the generosity of ranchers across the state, the Jim Magagna Ranch Management and Ag Leadership Endowment Fund was created under the UW Foundation, and donations will be matched dollar for dollar by the Wyoming Legislature.
Proceeds from the endowment will provide a permanent intern for WSGA to help support the organization and, dually, to provide an opportunity for students to shadow one of the most influential ag leaders in the state.
“There is a reason we decided to include ‘ag leadership’ in the name of this program, and it’s because nobody embodies the values we hope to build in our students more than Jim,” Crane said. “We want our students to interact with Jim, and we want to train leaders who embody everything Jim does.”
Eisele further noted, because Magagna is so well-known and influential across the state of Wyoming, initiating the endowment fund was fairly easy.
He started by contacting past presidents of the association with hopes of raising $25,000, but through some guidance and council, decided to raise the bar to $50,000.
As of June 3, in a short 65 days, the endowment has raised $65,000 and climbing, with a promise from the legislature to match what will continue to be raised.
“For those who have contributed, you’ve been so kind and generous. You’ve surprised me in a few cases, and I can’t thank you enough,” Eisele said. “Jim, this is not a send-off. This is simply to help you do the work you already do, and this is a thank you from all of your friends in this room and the others who couldn’t be here today. Thank you for everything you’ve done.”
Teary-eyed, surprised and accompanied by a standing ovation, Magagna approached the stage to provide comment.
“This is incredible, and I am most appreciative,” he said. “I do have to mention two things up front – one is, for my 27 years with WSGA, I felt like I had control of these conventions twice a year, but it appears I’ve lost control. The second is, one of the things I pride myself on and is critical in the role I play is knowing what’s going on, and in this case, I had no idea.”
He continued, “I would also like to point out, it’s so important to understand whatever I’ve been able to accomplish is not because of me but the community in which I function. The work we are able to do as an organization is not done in my name, but in the name of this organization.”
Donations are still being accepted and can be made out and mailed to the UW Foundation at 222 W. 22nd St., Laramie, WY 82070. Please note “Jim Magagna WSGA” on the check.
Endowment fund donation questions should be directed to Pepper Jo Six at pepperjo@uwyo.edu or 307-766-4134.
Hannah Bugas is the managing editor of the Wyoming Livestock Roundup. Send comments on this article to roundup@wylr.net.
