The Agriculture Business Club is keeping busy these days.

Besides being one of the biggest student organizations on campus, the Ag Business Club has just been awarded the National Outstanding Club Award for the sixth consecutive year.

“It’s a huge honor,” said Andy Chamra, a senior in agriculture business. Chamra has been a member of the club since his freshman year and currently serves as president.

The Agricultural & Applied Economics Association awarded the honor to the Ag Business Club at an annual meeting this past summer in Pittsburgh. It was there the club also won the Creative Club Award.

In order to be eligible for these awards, agriculture clubs from different colleges across the nation fill out a form listing all the activities the organization has held over the year.

For Iowa State’s chapter, this did not prove to be an issue. The Ag Business Club stays very busy, both with service projects and social events.

Each fall, the club hosts a golf tournament. Industry sponsors are invited to participate with students in the club as a way of networking in an 18-hole, best ball round. Next fall, the club is looking to add a roundtable dinner discussion the night before the tournament in order to allow more mingling, Chamra said.

Besides the golf tournament, the club also hosts a breakfast for alumni of the club the Saturday of homecoming week.

“The alumni breakfast allows alumni to come back and get updates about what’s going on with the club and the ag business department,” Chamra said.

However, arguably biggest event of the first semester is the fall industry tour. 50 or so members board a charter bus and head to a major city in the Midwest, such as Omaha, Kansas City, Minneapolis and Chicago, where they tour the headquarters of one of the clubs’ many sponsors. Afterward, the club usually takes a chance to bond with a social event, such as seeing a baseball game.

“It’s always nice to tour the different companies because they’re always looking for interns and ways to get involved with students,” said Julie Haugen, senior in agriculture business.

Haugen got involved in the club her freshman year under the advice of a friend.

“At first I was a shy freshman and not really involved, but by my sophomore year I was club reporter, and now I’m vice president,” Haugen said.

Besides informational trips, the club also takes some time for social events within the organization. Earlier this month, the club traveled to Minnesota for a ski trip. Between swimming in the hotel pool, going out to dinner and hitting the slopes, the trip provided the perfect chance for members to get to know each other better.

“The Ag Business is huge on networking, not just within Iowa State but the whole industry,” Chamra said. “Agriculture’s a really tight knit industry.”

Haugen will carry the relationships formed in the club through the rest of her life.

“I’ve met some of my best friends through the Ag Business Club,” Haugen said.

The Ag Business Club will be hosting its annual awards banquet Saturday.