From left, Matt Boos and Luanne Silkwood from Ponderosa Telephone, Bob Sears from Vulcan Materials, and Chris Mariscotti from the Vineyard Restaurant receive this year's Crystal Tower Award at the Fifth Annual Business and Education Shareholders' Luncheon hosted by Madera County Compact.

Photo by: For The Madera Tribune

Ponderosa Telephone, The Vineyard Restaurant and Vulcan Materials have received the Crystal Tower Award from the Madera Compact, a business group that fosters education.

Businesses were recognized for their partnerships with Madera County schools before nearly 200 business and community leaders at a luncheon in March.

"Madera County schools are truly fortunate to have businesses that invest not only financial support, but employee time and energy in school partnerships," said Cyndy Dolph, assistant superintendent, Madera County Office of Education.

Accepting the award for Ponderosa Telephone were president Luanne Silkwood and general manager Matt Boos. Ponderosa Telephone was nominated by Dr. Stephen Foster, superintendent of Chawanakee Unified School District. Ponderosa Telephone has been involved with CUSD for more than 20 years, Foster said. The company donates to Spring Valley School and recently the new Minarets High School.

Silkwood personally donates to fund programs as well, Foster said.

For four years Ponderosa Telephone employees have participated in a reading program at Spring Valley School where they read with students on their lunch break.

Chris Mariscotti, owner of The Vineyard Restaurant, accepted the second Crystal Tower Award. Mariscotti was nominated by Madera High School, School of Human Services and Ron Pisk, principal of Madera High School. Mariscotti has partnered with Madera High School for more than 10 years. He hosts students to work alongside employees in his restaurant to learn the trade. He also speaks in Kampus Kettle classes at Madera High, preparing students for the food services industry. Each year Mariscotti meets with teacher Evelyn Frechou to discuss current culinary trends and equipment.

The third award was given to Bob Sears, Central and Northern California vice president of Vulcan Materials. Vulcan was nominated by Scott Tefft, principal of Sierra View Elementary School in the Golden Valley Unified School District. Vulcan Materials has donated more than $20,000 worth of base rock and top soil for projects on campus. They absorbed all costs including man hours and trucking. Representatives from Vulcan Materials attended planning meetings for the school carnival, and designed and donated t-shirts for the event. Vulcan Materials donated more than 600 donuts for the annual Donuts with Dad breakfast.

"This year's recipients of the Crystal Tower Awards expressed their belief that it is the community's responsibility to support the success of all students. And, it is the community that will ultimately benefit," Dolph said. "The Madera County Compact shares that ideal and we hope other businesses will join us in this work through school partnerships."

Along with businesses and educators in the community, the luncheon highlighted the exceptional student work Madera County has to offer. Many high schools in Madera County contributed to the luncheon. As guests arrived, they saw floral arrangements created by students in Madera South High School's floral program. The event began with the National Anthem and "Seasons of Love" sung by the Chowchilla High School Choir. Yosemite High School students, guitarist Nathan Hinojosa and bassist Jamie McHenry played music while guests ate lunch. Following lunch, Dr. Sally Frazier, Madera County Superintendent of Schools, spoke about the importance of business partnerships and highlighted the importance of preschool access. The keynote presentation, led by Eric Kurtz, general manager of FMC and Chairperson of the Madera County Compact, highlighted how businesses are ever changing and how technology plays a pivotal role in the corporate business sector.

Madera County Teacher of the Year, Lorene Hensle, demonstrated the Promethian Board and elaborated on how changes in technology affect students as young as kindergarten. The Promethian Board is an interactive computer learning tool.