John Scheuber named 2016 MJC Distinguished Alumnus
John Scheuber, Modesto Junior College professor emeritus of agriculture (1968-1993) and agriculture business manager, has been named the 2016 Modesto Junior College Distinguished Alumnus of the Year. Until last year, John served as President and CEO of Veterinary Service, Inc. and is now semi-retired, serving as president of the board of VSI. Scheuber was honored by the MJC Foundation and college community at the MJC Commencement Ceremony on April 29, 2016.
Scheuber began his 60-year affiliation with MJC during his junior year at Modesto High School while involved with the Future Farmers of America. Following his high school graduation in 1957, he completed military training in the United States Army Reserves at Fort Ord. Before the spring semester of 1958 Scheuber was offered a scholarship by MJC dairy instructor Dave Risling to attend MJC. He accepted the offer and began his studies at MJC as a dairy science major.
Scheuber rekindled his relationship with high school sweetheart, Margie Olsen, and they married just after their graduation from MJC in 1960. In 1963, following completion of a Bachelor’s degree in Agriculture Business Management and a Master’s degree in Education from Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, Scheuber accepted a position of instructor of agriculture business at MJC.
In addition to his years as an agriculture educator (named Teacher of the Year by the MJC student body in 1972), Scheuber has spent 43 years in the management of agricultural businesses. His first industry experience, inspired by former MJC poultry instructor, George Biddle, was managing a totally integrated, 1 million bird, egg laying operation in Indiana. This provided him with diverse management experience in egg production, feed mill operation, grain elevator operation, egg processing and marketing.
After five years Scheuber and his wife moved back to Modesto with their four children
and he became the general manager of Veterinary Service, Inc., an animal health distributor.
During his tenure, VSI has grown from 31 employees to 280 and sales have increased
from $6 million annually to $200 million.
Scheuber has been deeply involved in the local agriculture community. He has served
for more than 30 years as chair of MJC’s Agriculture Advisory Committee, over 30 years
on the California Community College Ag and Natural Resources Advisory Committee and
has chaired that body for more than 20 years. He also serves as past president of
the National Ag Science Center Foundation which builds awareness of the importance
of agriculture in our daily lives.
Scheuber was the recipient of the National Future Farmers of America Honorary American Farmer Degree in 1994 and the Kiwanis Club Service Award for Leadership in Agriculture in 2004. His company, VSI, was inducted into the National Ag Science Hall of Fame in 2013, and he was honored with the Good Egg Award for his lifetime contribution to agriculture in 2014.
Scheuber said, “There is nothing more fulfilling and gratifying than to do something you truly love, knowing it is helpful to the cause and appreciated.”
Last year, he and his wife celebrated their 55th wedding anniversary and are delighted by seven grandchildren.