Faustina Rosas may be gone but she will never be forgotten. The Manteca Unified Student Trust is making sure of that.

Manteca Unified School Trust executive director Wendy King announced Wednesday that the annual MUST Pumpkin run will henceforth be known as the Faustina Memorial Pumpkin Run in honor of the longtime administrative assistant to Superintendent Jason Messer. In addition to working for 35-plus years in various administrative positions with the school district, the late Rosas was also a founding member of the non-profit MUST serving as board secretary until she stepped down a year ago for health reasons.

Rosas lost her long battle with cancer on Sept. 17 at the age of 54.

“Words don’t even express how big of a loss this is,” King said of Rosas’ demise.

“She was so dedicated. Year after year, she was up at the crack of dawn with all of us, setting up the tables and getting things ready for the runners,” King said of the selfless volunteer work that Rosas did for the organization whose mission is focused on the youth in the school district.

“She would get up in the morning hours and help put on the run. She kept us on track and in order. MUST would not be what it is today without her…. I am blessed to have known her and we will all truly miss her,” King said

She was there giving of herself since the non-profit organization was launched, lending a hand at “everything MUST did, everything the schools did. She was a remarkable woman,” added King.

She stepped down from the MUST board last year due to her illness. “And even then, she still supported us. And anytime we needed something, she would be there or her family. Her kids were always helping out. She recruited them all. If she couldn’t do it, she would send her sons or daughter,” added King.

When the organization decided to name the MUST Pumpkin Run in her memory and asked the family for permission to do it, “they were very supportive,” King said.



MUST Pumpkin Run fund-raiser for scholarships, youth programs

The annual Pumpkin Run will be held Saturday, Oct. 6, in conjunction with the annual Manteca Pumpkin Fair held that weekend. Registration for the 1 mile and 5K run will begin at 7 a.m. For the 1-mile run will begin at 8 a.m. For the 5K run, it will be 8:30 a.m.

The gathering place will be at the corner of Center and Elm streets next to the Tidewater Bikepath. All participants in the MUST Pumpkin Run will receive a T-shirt. King said this is MUST’s seventh annual run.

Registration fees are $20 per person with T-shirt; must be received by Sept. 28. The family entry fee (pre-registration only) is $65 for a single race with four complimentary T-shirts. Fees have to be received by Sept. 28 also. On race day, the fee for a single race is $25 per person. An additional $5 per person is charged if one wants to be in both the 1 mile and 5K runs.

Money raised from the Pumpkin Run goes to MUST’s various projects for youth including scholarships.

“We’ll also give a scholarship out in (Faustina Rosas’) name,” King said, just as they did one year when they awarded a scholarship in memory of the late community volunteer Jowell Griggs.

Rosas is survived by her husband, four children, a son-in-law, a grandson, and many brothers, sisters and nieces and nephews, “all of whom loved and admired her greatly,” stated King in an e-mail to the Manteca Bulletin.

“Our prayers go out to each and all of them.”

The Manteca Unified Student Trust foundation was established to support the students of Manteca Unified. Those who would like to make a contribution to MUST are asked to visit the organization’s web site at www.mantecausd.net and click on MUST. Entry fees to the Pumpkin Run are tax deductible. Receipts, if requested, will be given at registration.

For further details about the Pumpkin Run, call 858-0999.