Auburn Men Named "Brothers of the Century"
Jim bannon, Jim Cravey and Bill Alverson are among those honored by Alpha Gamma Rho as "Brothers of the Century"
Alpha Gamma Rho (AGR) fraternity honored 715 of its members as "Brothers of the Century" during its 58th annual national convention and celebration of 100 years as a fraternity this past August. Among the honorees were 22 Auburn AGRs, including CoAg's Bill Alverson and the AAES' own Jim Bannon.
The convention, held in August in Columbus, Ohio, drew some 800 AGR alumni and collegiate members and their families. Alpha Gamma Rho is the national professional/social agricultural fraternity with more than 59,000 members nationwide and chapters on 65 campuses in the United States.
The Brothers of the Century Award recognizes the "best of the best" members of AGR in the fraternity's first 100 years. The brothers selected are known for the highest principles, values and ideals of brotherhood of Alpha Gamma Rho. Most important, the honorees are recognized within their career fields and communities as role models for young men.
The distinction was to be awarded to no more than 2 percent of the fraternity's initiates. Brothers could be nominated based on either service to Alpha Gamma Rho or service to agriculture. Every AGR member had a chance to nominate a brother. Chapters were asked to submit nominations for deceased brothers. All living brothers chosen for the award were asked to submit a brief biography and photograph.
In addition to Bannon, who is director of outlying units for the AAES, and Alverson, assistant dean for the College of Agriculture, other AU inductees included E.T. York, Pete Turnham, Gene Allred, Stanley Wilson, John Lee, Henry Long, James Buford, John Pritchett, Billy Powell, Stanley Appleton, Seth Hammett, Jim Cravey, William Farrington, Scott Slocum, Brian Moore, Merle Flowers and Robert Rhoades. Several other Auburn men were inducted posthumously, including James Lawson, E.V. Smith and M. Lawrence Crawford.