John Busekist has been active in agriculture ever since he was a kid. He grew up on a dairy farm and was a member of 4-H. He was a teacher of agriculture and FFA Advisor at Cattaraugus and then Cattaraugus-Little Valley for 33 years (1978-2011) and at Springville Griffith Institute for 6 years (2013-2019), a class advisor several times, he coached several high school sports, and has been a track and cross-county official for nearly 20 years. He is also active in his church, serving as board president and teaches Sunday school. He served on the Cattaraugus County Fair Board during the 1980’s and early 90’s, and was a 4-H club leader. Johns 3 daughters and many nieces and nephews were members of 4-H and FFA. John had several students that became state FFA officers and several national judging teams, and is an honorary FFA American degree recipient. He served as treasurer of the NY Association of Agricultural Educators for over 20 years, as well as President for two, and won the Lifetime Achievement award for NY Association of Agricultural Educators. John served on the National Strategic Planning committee from 2002-2010. Also, he served as a trustee on the NYSFFA Governing Board and on the NYS Leadership Training Foundation. He has coordinated the WNY bus trip to National FFA Convention for many years including agricultural and educational stops along the route to Indianapolis or Louisville. In his retirement he has continued to substitute teach at C-LV and mentors the new teachers at both SGI and C-LV now that the program has been reestablished there. He enjoys spending time with his wife and daughters and their families and watching his 3 grandchildren grow up, play sports and participate in 4-H.
