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Competing for Mr. & Mrs. Manteca
Mike and Jeni Balmut
The couples are, from left, Mike and Jeni Balmut, Brady and Judi Horton Tim, as well as Cindy Goe. - photo by PHOTOS CONTRIBUTED

The first Mr. & Mrs. Manteca contest takes place at the Manteca Senior Center, 295 Cherry Lane, this Sunday.
 Doors open at 5 p.m. with dinner at 5:30 p.m. The patriotic-themed show benefitting Manteca Youth Focus kicks off at 6 p.m. Tickets are $25 each and include a catered dinner and a fun show featuring the All-Star Couples, Mike & Jeni Balmut, Tim & Cindy Goe, and Brady & Judi Horton.
The couples will compete in four areas of competition which consists of pre-sale fundraising including gathering sponsors, raffle donations, selling People’s Choice Awards & Photo Buttons and tickets to the dinner show. During the show the couples will be featured on stage in three additional areas which they compete in together with their spouse including Communicative Skills speech on the topic, “My Manteca,” Talent and On-Stage Personality which will be modeled after the classic TV game show “The Newlywed Game.”
Mike and Jeni Balmut are no stranger to MYF programs. Two of their three children have participated in the scholarship competition division and completed hundreds of hours of service to the community as members of the MYF All-Star Team.
“I can’t think of a greater honor, after 22 years in this community, than to be chosen as the very first Mr. and Mrs. Manteca,” said Jeanette Balmut. “It has been one heck of a year of transformation for me and this contest is an exciting culmination of an amazing year.”
Jeanette just completed a year-long journey in health and fitness as part of the Bulletin’s Year of You campaign. Mike is a veteran of the United States Navy and was deployed to the Persian Gulf in Operation Desert Storm during the couple’s first year of marriage. They have been married for 25 years now and have 3 children, Myklyn, 21; McKenna, 19; and Mitch. 17.
The couple will be dancing together for their talent to Brooks & Dunn’s “Hard Working Man.”
Tim and Cindy Goe are recent empty nesters as their youngest daughter Hannah, 18,, a former Miss Teen Manteca and MYF All-Star Team Member, headed off to college in Portland, Oregon. The couple also have daughter, Victoria, 25, who along with son-in-law, Zach, are expecting the first grandbaby of the family in March.
 “A super fun adventure to help raise money for the awesome Manteca Youth Focus program?  Sign us up!” was their enthusiastic response to the invitation to compete. “We know we are in for a lot of laughs and “mostly” friendly competition with our friends (the Balmuts and Hortons).”
The Goes’ love story begins with heartache later turned to romance as the two connected in Lake Tulloch one summer after both had faced bad break-ups. The couple later shared their wedding vows on the shore of that same lake that they met while not looking for love. Tim and Cindy will be recreating the infamous comedy sketch, “Who’s on First” by the comedy duo Abbott and Costello.
Brady and Judi Horton are in it “for the fame and glory, of course!” The couple in truth has been key volunteers for the MYF scholarship competitions for several years now. While they have no human children, the couple has a unique menagerie of “fur babies” including two dogs, Drew and Piggy, a kitten named Agnes, a 9-year old Sulcata tortoise named Rocky and their most recent addition, a 12-year old Clydesdale mare from Oregon named Honey who will join their family in March.
Brady Horton originally hails from nearby Salida where he was an Eagle Scout and served as Private First Class in the United States Army. His wife of 2 years, Judi, is a 5th grade teacher at August Knodt Elementary School in Weston Ranch, a member of Kiwanis International and a master trainer for the California-Nevada-Hawaii District for Kiwanis Lieutenant Governors. The couple’s love story includes a unique sports-themed wedding thought up by Judi who is a rabid New Orleans Saints fan and a honeymoon at Walt Disney World that included 9 of their favorite people. For their talent presentation, the Hortons will be singing, “Baby, You’ve Got What it Takes,” a song made famous by the incomparable Dinah Washington and Brook Benton.
This unique event is a brand new fundraiser for Manteca Youth Focus, a local non-profit youth scholarship and leadership organization. MYF which puts on the annual scholarship programs for Miss Manteca, Miss Teen Manteca, Miss Young Manteca and City Ambassadors came up with the idea for the fundraiser which ultimately provide over $6,000 in educational scholarships each year for young people between the ages of 10-20. “This is purely a fun event with an emphasis on fundraising for our scholarship fund and not a grown up pageant.”
In addition to the fun and entertainment provided by the couples, the dinner show will be feature comedian, author and local Manteca Bulletin columnist, Chris Teicheira who will host the show along with Myklyn Balmut, an MYF alumni, MHS grad and former Miss Manteca 2012 and Miss California State 2014. Assistant director, Amanda Rosas, another MYF alumni, has put together a great show with the team “America the Beautiful,” a patriotic show that will include entertainment by other talented MYF alums including current reigning Miss Manteca 2015, Liana Basset. Judges for the competition include “local celebrity couples” including Mayor Steve DeBrum and his wife Veronica and San Joaquin County Supervisor Bob Elliott and his wife Debbie.
The winning couple will receive a prize package including gift certificates to restaurants and local entertainment establishments and the chance to ride together in the Manteca 4th of July Parade and Manteca Twilight Holiday Parade.
“While the competition will be fun and fierce on stage, it really is about raising money for youth scholarships,” said Shim Lacy-Watson. “Since our incorporation in 1994, MYF has awarded over $50,000 in educational scholarships to dozens of youth in our community and the money raised at this event will help ensure we continue our mission into the future.”
Tickets for this one-of-a-kind event are limited and going fast. To get yours, contact Shim Lacy-Watson at 209.518.3915 or email Shim@MantecaYouthFocus.org. For more information on MYF programs for youth visit them on the web at www.MantecaYouthFocus.org.