Ellsworth Class of 2024 graduate Logan Brand was rewarded for his work as a dairy farmer, student and athlete, receiving the honor of Wisconsin Dairy Male Athlete of the Month by Dairy Farmers of Wisconsin and the Wisconsin Sports Network.

“It really meant a lot to me because I feel like it kind of gets overshadowed when you have a farm, and do sports and you go to school,” Brand said. “It’s a lot that you have to do and not many kids can do it and not many kids have to do it. But for the ones who do, it’s kind of nice to get recognition for it.”

Brand played football from about second grade through high school, basketball since seventh grade and golf during his junior year of high school. The hard work was noticed by his peers, as he was a team captain for the basketball team during his senior year and was voted for the “team first” award, according to the Wisconsin Sports Network. Brand was selected as Ellsworth’s representative as a Middle Border Conference Scholar Athlete. Each school in the conference chooses one male and one female senior each year for the honor, and Brand was selected this year along with Molly Janke.

“I feel like it’s really important, and that you kind of miss out on some of the things if you’re not a student-athlete, like camaraderie and just building teamwork skills and things like that,” Brand said. “A lot of kids should try to be student-athletes.”

The 18-year-old is heading to Iowa State University to study agricultural business in the fall and is excited to continue his academic success.

Being a student-athlete can be a lot of work as it is, but Brand went above and beyond, also working on dairy farms. Brand helps out on his family’s dairy farm, Brandvale Dairy, that milks about 1,800 cows across two locations. Not stopping there, Brand helps work on some neighboring dairy farms.

“I’ve learned how to work hard and kind of think outside the box,” Brand said. “Having to go with the flow a bit, because every day you kind of have a plan, but it always changes.”

The honor was one that made Brand’s efforts feel paid off, and he thanked the co-sponsors for it.

“I would just like to thank the Wisconsin Sports Network and Dairy Farmers of Wisconsin for giving me this honor,” Brand said.