The Manteca Stake of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints recognized and honored 10 area high school teachers for their outstanding service to youth at the 13th annual Crystal Apple Awards on April 26.
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints have honored 142 teachers over the past decade, including this year.
The 10 recipients received a “Crystal Apple” award for exemplifying excellent teaching, representing strong community values, and inspiring their students.
Three teachers were unable to attend, so their awards were presented during school hours, recorded on video, and shown at the ceremony.
The teachers were nominated by sophomores and juniors who attend high schools in Manteca, Lathrop, Ripon, Tracy and Mountain House.
The 2026 Crystal Apple Award recipients are:
*James Tiffany, from John C. Kimball High, nominated by Jazlee Larez/Kaithlyn Maxfield
*Laura Pelaez, from Millennium High School, nominated by Hayden Compton
*Donna Earle, from Mountain House High School, nominated by Samuel Witham
*Ricardo Martinez, from Mountain House High School, nominated by Lillie Frederick
*Jodi Larson, from Mountain House High School, nominated by Ewan Hambly
*David Haut, from West High School, nominated by Kaimana Roundy
*Jadyn Shinn, from Sierra High School, nominated by Dallin Murray
*Jacob Cortez, from Tracy High School, nominated by Leila Nihipali
-Angie Bottarini, from Manteca High School, nominated by Eva Hokanson
*Travis Thum, from River Islands High School, nominated by Kaden McGuire
The program was conducted by Jacob Bair, a senior at Ripon high school.
The invocation was delivered by Sam Doman, a freshman at East Union high school and the benediction was by Lucy Sorensen, a sophomore from Mountain House Hight school.
A youth choir composed of middle and high school students from nearby cities performed two songs: “Walk with Me” and “Thank You”. The choir was under the direction of Lexi Duncan, a junior at Millennium High School, with Sam Witham, a senior at Mountain House High School, serving as pianist.
The Keynote speaker was Kade Petersen, Manteca Stake President of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, the Assistant Superintendent of Curriculum and Instruction for Stanislaus Union School District. He stated that education is a fundamental principle upheld by our church, and we are committed to fostering educational opportunities for our children. As educators, we empower students by equipping them with the skills and knowledge necessary to reach their full potential.
Some of the remarks from the nominating students were;
*Walking into her class is awesome with interactive lessons.
*I learn something new every day and she genuinely cares about her students.
*She treats me like I’m the most important person in her class and that is her students’ matter. She is patient, kind and hardworking.
*We can openly talk with our teacher about our problems.
*He pushes and encourages us to be better.
*He makes learning fun.
*He is just a good guy, and you can feel the love he has for his students.
Representatives from multiple School Boards, principals, and community leaders attended the ceremony to congratulate teachers on receiving the Crystal Apple Award.
Notable attendees included Manteca Mayor Gary Singh, Robert Rickman (SJC Board of Supervisors), Troy Brown, Ed.D., (County Superintendent of Schools) Andrew Lee (East Union High School Assistant Principal), Annie Cunial (SJC Board of Education, Assist. Superintendent Educ.), Jon Waggle (Tracy High School Principal), Robert Picot (Tracy USD Superintendent), Anne Shaw (Sierra High School Assistant Principal), David Pombo (Lammersville USD School Board), and Lisa Boulais (Lammersville USD Board President).
