The Sauk Valley Area Chamber of Commerce’s Steak Fry in the Country fundraising event is no more – at least for 2026.

In a letter sent to SVACC members and posted on the chamber’s social media sites Wednesday, the chamber said it is not hosting the annual event this year.

“After careful consideration, the Sauk Valley Area Chamber of Commerce has made the decision not to host the Steak Fry in the Country in 2026,” according to the letter.

That decision was due to another area group organizing a similar event at the same time.

“Another organization has started a similar event on the same day, same time and at the same location. It seemed like the best thing to do was put a pause on our event for now,” said Dallas Knack, executive director of the SVACC.

Proceeds from the SVACC event support ag education and students in the Sauk Valley. Knack said the SVACC board was concerned that competing events could affect fundraising efforts.

“The proceeds from the SVACC event are meant to benefit students,” she said. “We were worried that by splitting attendance at events or trying to go against another community event, we would not have the same turnout. At the end of the day, it’s the students who are going to suffer from that.”

Knack said the controversy surrounding last year’s event played a role in the decision.

State Rep. Bradley Fritts, R-Dixon, publicly withdrew his membership from SVACC after the Aug. 17 Steak Fry in the Country. Fritts said he left the SVACC because the word “God” was omitted from an invocation at the 2025 steak fry event, and because a diversity, equity and inclusion statement was included on the SVACC’s website.

“That has spurred some of this movement,” Knack said. “There has been some unrest with this committee for quite some time now. A couple of our committee members used that as an opportune moment to break away and start a new event.”

Knack did not name the members, and details of the new event were not immediately available. Knack said the SVACC wished the other event success.

“The SVACC Agribusiness Committee will be using 2026 as a year to regroup, reflect and explore how the group can thoughtfully reapproach this effort in the future,” the SVACC board said in its letter to members announcing the cancellation of the 2026 steak fry.

The Steak Fry in the Country is one of the chamber’s major fundraising events for its scholarship program, which awards scholarships in several areas – including agriculture – to area high school students, as well as for its ag education grant program.

The SVACC just wrapped up its 2025 grant cycle. More than $60,000 in funding was presented to 17 ag education programs in the SVACC service area.

The scholarship deadline for the SVACC’s agriculture scholarship is March 1. Knack said the SVACC is going ahead with those awards for 2026.

“We do have our ag scholarships, and that application process is open right now for the 2026-27 school year, but beyond that, we are not sure what it will look like,” she said. “We are still fully committed to supporting ag education in this area.”