Take a drive around the Husker Harvest Days site near Grand Island, and it isn’t difficult to find buildings and structures built by Chief Industries — including modular homes by BonnaVilla, commercial and industrial buildings by Chief Buildings, grain bins by Chief Agri, and Chief Fabrication’s Pivot Walker center-pivot wheel replacements. Even one of the restrooms and the show office were donated by Chief.

However, what isn’t immediately apparent is that Chief Industries has been a part of Husker Harvest Days since the show’s inception in the 1970s.

“We’ve been displaying and been a part of the show for the full 40 years it’s been in existence. Several years before the show came to Grand Island 40 years ago, a small group and the Grand Island Chamber of Commerce came together with the hopes of bringing a farm show to the area,” says DJ Eihusen, president and CEO at Chief Industries. “Part of that small group of individuals from the community was Virgil Eihusen, my grandfather.”

Virgil Eihusen, who founded Chief Industries in the 1950s, was one of the original boosters for HHD during those early years. And Chief Industries has continued that legacy through the years, including support for the renovation project that took place at the show site this past year.

In the 18 months leading up to the public announcement last year that Farm Progress would invest $7.5 million in upgrades to the HHD site, DJ Eihusen served on a committee with the Grand Island Chamber of Commerce and Farm Progress to evaluate the best way to put these upgrades in place. Over the past year, Chief Industries has taken the lead, and offered value engineering services at no cost.

“We involved our electrical group, to a small degree, to provide some value engineering,” Eihusen says. “The electrical and the road pavement upgrades were designed by outside parties. Through our electrical contracting company, we provided value engineering to determine if these upgrades were legitimate, and how can we cut some costs to be more efficient?”

Part of the community
Countless hours were spent by not only Chief, but also members of the community to ensure the show stayed in the Grand Island area.

“Husker Harvest Days is really part of the fabric of this community,” Eihusen says. “When you think of Grand Island, there are a few things that come to mind. Those include the Stuhr Museum of the Prairie Pioneer, the Nebraska State Fair and certainly Husker Harvest Days.

“It’s well-known in local restaurants, hotels and the Grand Island Convention and Visitors Bureau that the economic impact HHD brings to this community is tremendous. When you think about the fact this event could go somewhere else, it’s equivalent to losing Case New Holland, a possibility that existed 15 years ago. It’s hard to say Grand Island without Husker Harvest Days coming to mind.”

Potential to grow
With these upgrades and with $14 million invested in upgrades to the Central Nebraska Regional Airport in Grand Island recently, Eihusen says, the show has the potential for continued growth.

“Grand Island is blessed to have a phenomenal airport that has really been enhanced lately,” he says. “There are 65,000 enplanements in and out a year, and we have two daily nonstop flights to Dallas through American Airlines, and regular nonstop flights to Phoenix and Las Vegas through Allegiant. Our accessibility has improved dramatically.

“With the changes in infrastructure at the show site, and recent upgrades to the airport, there’s no reason this show can’t continue to grow, certainly from an international perspective.”

Chief Industries encompasses seven different businesses. In addition to the four companies at HHD — BonnaVilla, Chief Fabrication, Chief Agri and Chief Buildings — it includes Chief Carriers, Chief Construction and Chief Ethanol.