STEPHENVILLE, Texas \u2014 Tarleton State University\u2019s College of Education last night honored the latest inductees to the Dr. Don Beach Crystal Apple Society. The annual ceremony celebrates educators who have made a profound impact on the lives of their students and institutions. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Named for Dr. Don Beach, former Tarleton State professor and Dean of the School of Education and Fine Arts, the Crystal Apple Society recognizes the commitment and selflessness of educators. Nominees are submitted by colleagues, former students, families and community members prior to the ceremony. Each sponsored nomination supports College of Education students through scholarships, uplifting future educators while championing those who came before. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
This year, the ceremony returned to a formal dinner with an evening of reflection and celebration led by Tarleton State President Dr. James Hurley, College of Education Dean Dr. Lesley Leach and College of Education professor and Department Head of Curriculum and Instruction Dr. James Gentry. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIt is an honor to celebrate this year\u2019s Dr. Don Beach Crystal Apple Society honorees and the lasting difference they make in the lives of students, families and our communities,\u201d said Dr. Leach. \u201cThis event carries forward Dr. Beach\u2019s legacy by recognizing educators whose influence extends well beyond the classroom and whose care, commitment and belief in students continue to shape lives in meaningful ways.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n
This year\u2019s Crystal Apple Society inductees are: <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2013 Dr. Cindy Edwards <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2013 Dean Edwards <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2013 Brooke Grassi <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2013 Tralissa Griffin <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2013 Dr. Amber Harris Bozer <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2013 Sarabeth Hesteande <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2013 Blake Hesteande <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2013 Dr. Eliel Hinojosa Jr. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2013 Christal Hollinger <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2013 Margaret O\u2019Neill <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2013 Nicole Paret <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2013 Paula \u201cBirdie\u201d Quazi <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2013 Diane Ranft <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2013 Tuesdie Richmond <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2013 Victor Sauceda <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2013 Meg Schuessler <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2013 Crystal Snider <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2013 Maile Towers <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2013 Tisha Young <\/p>\n\n\n\n
In addition to the evening\u2019s esteemed honorees, the College of Education offered special thanks to the E.J. Howell Crystal Apple Awards sponsors Mr. Jim and Mrs. Elizabeth Engelke, VLK Architects and Dr. Don Beach Crystal Apple Society presenting sponsor Peacock\u2019s Restaurant. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
STEPHENVILLE, Texas \u2014 Tarleton State University\u2019s College of Education last night honored the latest inductees to the Dr. Don Beach Crystal Apple Society. The annual ceremony celebrates educators who have made a profound impact on the …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1084,"featured_media":55211,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"advgb_blocks_editor_width":"","advgb_blocks_columns_visual_guide":"","wds_primary_category":422,"footnotes":""},"categories":[422,426],"tags":[430,437,442,456],"class_list":["post-55205","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-morestories","category-honors-achievements","tag-academic-affairs","tag-college-of-education","tag-community-events","tag-stephenville"],"acf":{"image":false},"author_meta":{"display_name":"jdouglas","author_link":"https:\/\/www.tarleton.edu\/news\/author\/jdouglas\/"},"featured_img":"https:\/\/www.tarleton.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/65\/2026\/05\/Crystal-Apple-Society-Dinner-05.5.26-8096-300x200.jpeg","coauthors":[],"tax_additional":{"categories":{"linked":["_morestories<\/a>","Honors & Achievements<\/a>"],"unlinked":["_morestories<\/span>","Honors & Achievements<\/span>"]},"tags":{"linked":["Academic Affairs<\/a>","College of Education<\/a>","Community Events<\/a>","Stephenville<\/a>"],"unlinked":["Academic Affairs<\/span>","College of Education<\/span>","Community Events<\/span>","Stephenville<\/span>"]}},"comment_count":0,"relative_dates":{"created":"Posted 4 days ago","modified":"Updated 4 days ago"},"absolute_dates":{"created":"Posted on May 6, 2026","modified":"Updated on May 6, 2026"},"absolute_dates_time":{"created":"Posted on May 6, 2026 8:00 am","modified":"Updated on May 6, 2026 7:54 am"},"featured_img_caption":"","series_order":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tarleton.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/55205","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tarleton.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tarleton.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tarleton.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1084"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tarleton.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=55205"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.tarleton.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/55205\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":55206,"href":"https:\/\/www.tarleton.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/55205\/revisions\/55206"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tarleton.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/55211"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tarleton.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=55205"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tarleton.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=55205"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tarleton.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=55205"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}