Building upon his early years of service as an Illinois FFA chapter president, Mike Builta launched a career rooted in relationships, integrity and service in the agriculture industry. Before beginning his more than 20-year career working in various roles at GROWMARK, Builta completed bachelor’s degrees in economics and crop science at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.
He was working as the vice president of energy and logistics at GROWMARK when he unexpectedly passed away in the spring of 2019. Almost immediately, donations in his honor began flooding in. Builta’s wife, Sheila, remembers the support being “just unbelievable.”
Mike Builta’s family created the Builta Jacket Project, an FFA jacket donation program, in his honor.
“Mike was very active in FFA and in encouraging up-and-comers in agriculture,” she says. “I talked with a few people at GROWMARK, and we decided to take the money [we received] and give FFA jackets to members each year.”
In Mike’s memory, the Builta Jacket Project was born.
Paying it Forward
Through the donation program, Illinois FFA members can complete an application outlining their goals and what the FFA jacket means to them. GROWMARK employees collect applications and then send them to Sheila for review. After reading each submission, she selects 25 members to receive the iconic corduroy FFA jacket and pin, which reads “In Memory of Mike Builta,” to add to their new corduroy.
Maliah Harris, a Nokomis FFA member and freshman at Nokomis High School, was one of the 2023 jacket recipients. Harris didn’t grow up on a farm but found a passion for agriculture by attending leadership conferences designed for first-year FFA members. She plans to begin a supervised agricultural experience (SAE) focused on raising quail and hopes to wear her new jacket to the 97th National FFA Convention & Expo this October.
In her application, Harris explained how the FFA jacket represents integrity, respect and leadership. “I think it’s an honor to get to wear this jacket,” she says. “I’m so excited to see where it takes me.”
Builta’s Impact Lives On
After five years, the Builta Jacket Project awarded its 125th jacket in 2023. Thanks to a partnership with the GROWMARK Foundation, the Builta family plans to annually award 25 jackets to Illinois FFA members in the future.
“Mike was never one to enjoy attention,” Sheila says. “He probably wouldn’t like us making a fuss over him, but I think he’d be humbled and proud to be recognized for his lasting contributions to agriculture.”
If you’re an Illinois FFA member interested in applying to receive an FFA jacket through the Builta Jacket Project, visit the Illinois FFA Association website this fall.
