Jackpot Combined School’s own Zach Hunter has been named the 2025 Nevada Cattlemen’s Association (NCA) Teacher of the Year. He was honored during the Annual NCA Convention on Friday, November 14.
Zach’s journey at Jackpot began as a health aide. Thanks to his deep roots in construction, passion for botany, and service as a local pastor, he soon stepped into the classroom as a first-year Building Trades teacher. But his impact didn’t stop there.
He introduced a middle school agriculture class rooted in his love for plants. Through a grant from Green Our Planet, Zach brought hydroponics into every Jackpot classroom—helping students in grades K-12 grow their own plants and explore science in action.
This hands-on learning played a key role in Jackpot Combined School earning the Governor’s STEM designation. Supported by a grant from the Office of Science, Innovation and Technology, the school began building greenhouses. Zach’s students have taken the lead—building workbenches, tables, and even the greenhouses themselves.
Students have toured horticulture and nursery businesses and will soon be working with industry pros to design landscapes and grow plants for local use. Thanks to Zach’s leadership, agriculture education is now a vibrant, schoolwide effort.
Along with the statewide honor, Zach received a $1,000 classroom supply stipend from the Nevada Agriculture Foundation and congressional recognition from Senators Jackie Rosen and Catherine Cortez Masto. The award was presented by former Nevada Ag Foundation President Joe Guild.
Zach Hunter is growing more than plants—he’s growing a love for learning, leadership and community pride at Jackpot Combined School.