MISSOULA - The late Seeley Lake Trailblazer 4-H Club member Mark Teague’s steer raised more than $25,000 Saturday, Aug. 13 at the Western Montana Fair 4-H & FFA Livestock Sale. All of the proceeds raised from the sale of the animal will go into the Mark Teague Memorial Scholarship Fund to help future 4-Hers get started on a market beef project.
Teague passed away last fall at age 16. He had already purchased his 4-H steer for this year’s fair with his earnings from last year. Mark Wilson of West Feed and the Radtke family from Hall, Mont. donated the feed. All of the money earned at the sale was profit for the scholarship fund.
The Teague family was hoping to raise at least $5,000 so they could offer a $500 scholarship annually to a Missoula County 4-H member enrolling in the market beef project. Riverside Contracting, owned by the Rehbein family purchased the 1420-pound steer for $6.25 per pound. Pro-Pipe of Missoula matched that price.
There were also several add-ons that brought the grand total to $25,394.71 at the sale including: Derrick Baker Insurance, Jim and Lori Thomas, BJ Thomas, Peak Electric, Missoula McDonalds, Korb Design & Landscaping, Abbey Carpet & Flooring, Axmen Feed and Paws Up Angus.
“Never in my wildest dreams could I have imaged this,” said Teague’s mother Sharon. “It is such a testament to the 4-H community and to our family.”
Sharon explained that she has been a part of Missoula County 4-H for 40 years either as a student or leader. “We [the Teague family] have a long history at the fair and it was such a neat testament to all that.”
The Missoula County 4-H Council and the Extension Office will manage the scholarship fund. Each year, the scholarship committee will determine the recipients.
Because the sale was such a success, Sharon is not sure if the scholarship committee will offer a larger scholarship or more than one per year. This will be decided in the next few weeks. She hopes that the fund will be self-perpetuating and continue indefinitely.
The deadline for the scholarship application for a 2017 beef project is Sept. 15. Applications are available from the Missoula County 4-H Extension Office by calling 4-H Agent Campbell Barrett at 406-258-4203 or email cbarrett@montana.edu
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