I was shocked and saddened to learn that Reg Schellenberg died suddenly in December. He seemed to me like a man who had plenty of time ahead of him.
While talking about Reg with a colleague, we wondered whether people fully appreciate how much people like him give to the industry through the boards they’ve joined. Reg served as a director and zone chair with the Saskatchewan Stock Growers Association (SSGA) before becoming an executive member of the association. Over the years, he also chaired the Canadian Cattle Association’s animal care committee, co-chaired its animal health and care committee, chaired the foreign trade committee, and represented the Canadian Cattle Association (CCA) to the Canadian Cattle Identification Agency. He was CCA vice-president from 2020 until last March when he took over from Bob Lowe as CCA president.
That must have added up to a lot of work and time over the years. Not only travelling to meetings but also the phone calls he would have picked up at home, from early morning to late at night.
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“You always have to be on and thinking about things that are happening besides running your own operation at home,” Garner Deobald says of being on an industry board. Garner is president of the SSGA.
Garner and Reg knew each other for a long time. They went to high school in neighbouring towns (Hodgeville and Herbert) and played high school football against each other. Reg then moved to the Beechy area, where he ranched with his wife, Shannon. Reg and Garner’s paths crossed again about 30 years ago, as they both became involved with producer groups, serving together on the SSGA board. Garner also represented the Canadian Beef Breeds Council on the CCA for a couple of years, so he worked with Reg there as well.
When describing Reg, words such as commitment, quiet leadership, firm and confident came to Garner’s mind. “He was always open to listening and very open-minded. He was a person, I think, who was very thoughtful in what he did. And so, all of those things combined really made him a good leader in my mind, anyway.”
Reg’s goal, first and foremost, was to represent the industry to the best of his ability, Garner says. He wasn’t doing it for his own gain. It was about what was best for the industry not only now, but in the future. He was interested in the youth, the next generation of producers. His family has asked those wishing to honour Reg’s memory to donate to the Canadian Cattle Foundation, in support of the Canadian Cattle Young Leaders program.
Reg was also motivated to improve relationships with the people who make the decisions, for the betterment of the beef industry, Garner says.
“Many times, you’re working to get the attention of government or advocating for the industry to government. His take on it always was that if we’re not actively trying to do that, somebody else will always make the rules for you. And if you’re not sitting at the table, then you get what they give you.”
Garner attended some of the Schellenberg family’s brandings over the years and something that always struck him was that “everything was always very well organized,” and ran like “clockwork.” The same approach was evident in how he worked with the CCA, and whatever he was involved in, Garner says.
“He was proud of the cattle that he raised.” He was always trying to do things better, and trying new things, and that attitude was apparent in how he ran his operation, and in how he worked with industry boards. Whatever Reg did, he wanted to do it the best possible way, says Garner.
“Reg was a big family man and he was a person of faith,” Garner says. Whatever his kids were involved in (for example, high school rodeo), Reg took a great interest. Family was first and foremost, and he did everything possible for them, Garner says. Reg was proud of his family and proud of his son Coy for taking over the ranch, something Garner had been reflecting on lately. To me, Reg’s love for his family makes his commitment to these producer groups over the decades more poignant. Reg’s family has had to share him with the rest of the industry, as have families of so many other people serving on boards.
From all of us at Canadian Cattlemen magazine, our condolences to Reg’s family, as well as his friends and colleagues.
As current president of SSGA, Garner also sends condolences and best wishes to Reg’s family.
“We sure appreciated Reg for everything that he did for all of us here in the industry.”
