FALLSBURG, NY — Joe LaRuffa, a music teacher and band director at Fallsburg Central School District (FCSD) and former Town of Fallsburg councilman, became the second inductee into the Fallsburg High School Hall of Fame on June 29, 2014.

Superintendent Dr. Ivan Katz and Board of Education President Joseph Collura introduced LaRuffa to the filled auditorium at the class of 2014 graduation ceremonies. Both speakers praised LaRuffa’s career as an outstanding teacher, a nationally renowned band director, a public servant, and, in Collura’s words, a courageous military man who served his country in the three years of the Italian campaign in World War II. Accompanying LaRuffa were his wife Jeannette, his daughters Angela and Mary Ann, his son Frank, and Frank’s daughter Olivia. Frank offered moving words of thanks on behalf of his dad and the grateful family.

Many former colleagues and students were in the audience, shaking hands and hugging the LaRuffa family.