MTSU’s School of Agribusiness and Agriscience and the Ag Alumni Board of Directors are extending an invitation for alumni and friends to attend the third annual Ag Alumni and Friends Reception.

It will be held Saturday, Sept. 1, starting at 5 p.m. at the Tennessee Walking Horse National Celebration in Shelbyville, Tenn.

MTSU ag alumni Dustin, left, and Andriana Lamb and Liz and Danny Troup visit during the 2011 Ag Alumni and Friends Reception at the Tennessee Walking Horse National Celebration. Liz and Danny Troup work in the MTSU Dairy and MTSU Farm, respectively. (photo submitted)

Reservations are required by Thursday, Aug. 30. You can call Kym Stricklin at 615-898-2523 or email kym.stricklin@mtsu.edu to RSVP and make arrangements to pay at the door.

The group gathers as part of The Celebration, which is considered the Super Bowl for the walking-horse industry. The reception will be in the Hall of Fame Room in the Calsonic Arena, located at 1110 Evans St. in Shelbyville.

“This is going to be the best one yet,” School of Ag Director Warren Gill said. “The Celebration is one of the premier horse shows in the world, and we are meeting on World Grand Championship night.

“The show itself is going to be great. The first Saturday night sets up the drama for the second Saturday night and that last big class.”

Gill said Lisa Moore, coordinator of the Shelbyville-based Middle Tennessee Education Center, will discuss the program and the MTSU/Motlow State Community College partnership with the center during Saturday’s event.

More than 100 alumni and friends have attended in each of the first two years, Gill said.

The cost is $10 per person and includes the reception and box-seat tickets to The Celebration, which starts at 7 p.m. A portion of the proceeds will go toward the alumni scholarship.

For news about the school, visit www.mtsu.edu/abas and click on “AG ALUMNI NEWSLETTER FALL 2012.”

The School of Agribusiness and Agriscience is one of 10 departments in the College of Basic and Applied Sciences.

— Randy Weiler (Randy.Weiler@mtsu.edu)