John Braas was born in Stockton and grew up in Ventura and Bakersfield. After graduating from West High School in Bakersfield, he completed a degree in Agricultural Business Management from Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo. Prior to attending Cal Poly, John played on the baseball team at Bakersfield College and Cal State, Northridge for three years. He was drafted twice – 1973 by the New York Mets and 1975 by the San Francisco Giants. He has also completed a marathon and two sprint triathlons.
His 43-year career in Agricultural finance and appraisal brought him to Fresno, Sacramento, and Templeton, working for Western Farm Management Company, MetLife Agricultural Investments, and the Farm Credit System.
John met Linda, his wife of 42 years, at Cal Poly. They have two sons and four grandchildren. John, his father, and his oldest son all graduated from Cal Poly. Linda and John love the area and always planned to retire to the Central Coast. In 2013, John was offered a senior management position with Farm Credit in Templeton, and they felt it was the right time to relocate and settle in San Luis Obispo.
John continues to work out and be active in sports, but also enjoys the quieter pastimes of volunteering, reading, and spending time with his family. His decades-long commitment to improving access to clean water has involved him in eight international trips in connection with water projects – Ethiopia, Guatemala, El Salvador (4), Honduras and Nicaragua.