5-21-2008 |
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WEST VIRGINIA AGRICULTURE AND FORESTRY HALL OF FAME HONORS SIX The West Virginia Agriculture and Forestry Hall of Fame has chosen individuals from agriculture and forestry for enshrinement into this historical organization. These individuals have devoted their lives and careers to renewable resource industries in our state. Brookley Rush Butcher of Summersville, W.Va. (Nicholas County), is widely recognized as an exemplary Soil Conservation District Supervisor, as the dynamic leader of the Conservation Supervisors Legislative Committee that brought many improvements in erosion and sediment control legislation, as President of the Nicholas County Extension Committee and as a livestock farmer and Christmas tree grower. A graduate of Berea College and a veteran of World War II, Rush’s life has also been one of great community involvement. He has many accomplishments and honors for his efforts in the Methodist Church, including serving as Chairman of the Board and singer in the choir, in the Ruritan Club, serving multiple times as President, and as founder of the Heritage Dance Team which through the Heritage Youth Camps has taught good citizenship and heritage dancing to thousands of the States youth. James Kinsey of Flemington, W.Va. (Taylor County), a graduate of Fairmont State College, is highly acclaimed for his work in the beef cattle industry, especially his breeding and selection of genetically superior Angus cattle that are sought all across the nation. As a long standing member of the West Virginia Cattlemen’s Association, his diligent efforts did much to improve management practices and production methods. On the state level, he was responsible for the daily operations of the West Virginia Beef Industry Council and for 28 years held numerous important positions with the Farm Credit System. On the national level he served as director of the National Cattlemen’s Beef Board and for nearly a decade was a member of the USDA Cattlemen’s Promotion and Research Board where he initiated several recognized programs. Sam Tuckwiller of Lewisburg, W.Va. (Greenbrier County), a graduate of West Virginia University, is recognized for developing a nationally known beef cattle farm of more than 2,000 acres with approximately 300 Angus cows. While he and his sons have been developing a national prominence, Sam has found time to Chair the West Virginia Farm Bureau Beef Cattle Committee, serve on the American Farm Bureau’s Beef Advisory Committee, assisted in organizing the West Virginia Beef Industry Council, was a long time director of the National Livestock and Meat Board, has served in every office during his nearly five decades of membership with the Greenbrier County Farm Bureau and attendant organizations. A Methodist, he has held several Church lay positions, has chaired the Greenbrier County Board of Zoning Appeals, is a well known Raritan member having served in all of the offices during his 4-decades membership, and has received numerous state and national Distinguished Service, Merit, and Outstanding Service wards, among numerous other recognitions garnered during his life-long agricultural and civic duties. French W. Armstrong of French Creek, W.Va. (Upshur County), is a veteran of WW II and joined the West Virginia State Police in 1948. At about the same time, he started planting Christmas trees and acquiring timberland. As a member of the WV Christmas Tree Grower’s Association for more than three decades, he has served in the various offices including multiple terms as a member of the Board of Directors of both the state and national associations where he is known for his practical solutions to governmental problems. He has served as a member of the West Virginia Forest Stewardship Committee since its inception, served as a County Commissioner, served on the Buckhannon Upshur Chamber of Commerce, the Upshur County Development Authority and belongs to the Central Upshur Lions Club. David K. McCurdy of P. O. Box 8, West Columbia, WV 25288 is known far and wide for his service as superintendent of the WV Division of Forestry forest tree nurseries, a position he has occupied for more than 40 years. A graduate of North Carolina State University, Dave started as a service forester, but soon moved to Parsons Forest Tree Nursery as superintendent. He raised millions of seedlings for various forest tree and Christmas tree operations until the historic flood of 1985 destroyed him nearly two decades of work. He moved to and reopened the Clements Forest Tree Nursery in Mason County which he still operates. Dave is highly regarded among the scientists working to recover the American chestnut as a timber tree, is prominent in the Presbyterian Church, a long time member of the WV Christmas Growers Association, the Society of American Foresters, a founding member of the Northeastern Area Nurserymen’s Association and is a statewide instructor in defensive driving as well as a certified instructor for the U.S. Forest Service. The West Virginia Department of Agriculture protects plant, animal and human health through a variety of scientific, regulatory and consumer protection programs, as mandated by state law. The Commissioner of Agriculture is one of six statewide elected officials in West Virginia. Currently, Commissioner Gus R. Douglass is the longest-serving agriculture commissioner in the nation. For more information, visit www.wvagriculture.org.
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