The Foundation is proud to partner with the Paxton-Buckley-Loda Hall of Fame. The first class of distinguished members was inducted into The PBL Hall of Fame in 2014. Since the very beginning, The Foundation has provided financial support for this worthy program that recognizes outstanding achievements of our alumni. This recognition serves the dual purpose of spotlighting the member’s contribution to society while also serving as role models for today’s students. Alumni who have excelled and contributed in education and/or work/military, made professional contributions, led in community activities, and have had an overall positive impact on society are considered for this honor.

Beverly J. Brown

Paxton High School Class of 1951

Beverly Brown graduated from Paxton Community High School in 1951. After graduation her focus turned to getting a job that would allow her to earn a living while pursuing her passion of sports, specifically in softball, which was her sport of choice.

In 1952 Beverly was recruited by the Caterpillar Tractor Company of Peoria to try out for their women’s softball team, which if she made would also come with a job and benefits. Beverly took the leap of faith, followed her passion, and made the team. Beverly played for Caterpillar from 1952-1956, when Caterpillar decided to drop their sponsorship. From there she went on to play from 1956-1963 for the Sunnyland Lettes and Pekin Lettes, which is the oldest member-sanctioned Amateur Softball Association team in the United States. During her playing career Beverly accumulated statistics that place her in the top ten in Pekin Lettes history for at-bats, runs scored, runs batted in, and stolen bases. Additionally, in 1973 Beverly was inducted into the Illinois Amateur Softball Hall of Fame.

After retiring from organized softball in 1963 Beverly began playing golf on a regular basis. Due to it interfering with her swing, Beverly was not allowed to play golf while she was playing softball. In the years that followed she placed in many local golf tournaments including the Illinois Senior Women’s Golf Championship, where in 2013 she won the Super Senior award for being the oldest participant when she was 80 years old.

Twenty years prior to Title IX becoming law in June of 1972, Beverly Brown and her softball teammates were dedicated to the pursuit of enhancing opportunities for women in sports.

Cliff Hastings

Paxton-Buckley-Loda High School Class of 1993

Cliff Hastings graduated from Paxton-Buckley-Loda High School in 1993. After graduating he studied for a year at Furman University and then finished at Monmouth College where he earned a Bachelor’s Degree in Math and Music in 1997.

After graduating from Monmouth College Mr. Hastings took a job at Wolfram Research, one of the world’s most respected computer, web and cloud software companies, where he continues to work as Director of Sales & Strategic Initiatives. In this role he oversees operations in the Americas, Asia, and Australia for the company’s computational software products and services utilized in educational, business, and research settings.

Mr. Hastings started his coaching career at Rantoul High School and The High School of St. Thomas More while also running the Prime Time Volleyball Club which has seen up to 750 girls in a year play and learn the game of volleyball.

In 2009 Mr. Hastings was hired as the head women’s volleyball coach at Parkland College. Under his leadership, Parkland College won the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) National D-II Championship in 2015, 2016, and 2021. In addition to the three national championships, Parkland College has finished as the runner-up five times and placed third three times. During Cliff’s 14 years at the helm, Parkland College Women’s Volleyball has won 92% of their matches, had 45 players earn Academic All-American honors, and 30 players earn NJCAA All-American honors. Cliff was named the AVCA Two-Year College Coach of the Year in 2015, the NJCAA National Coach of the Year three times, the NJCAA Region 24 Coach of the Year 11 times, and earned his 600th victory during the 2021 season.

Mark Frichtl

Paxton-Buckley-Loda High School Class of 2006

Mark Frichtl graduated from Paxton-Buckley-Loda High School in 2006. After graduation he went on to attend Stanford University where he earned a bachelor’s degree in Engineering Physics and a master’s degree in Mechanical Engineering.

After graduating from Stanford, Mark went on to work as an Engineer at Quanergy, Inc. from July 2013 to April 2015, and as a Technologies Development Engineer at Apple, Inc. for a short while. In June of 2015, Mark co-founded Ouster, which builds high-resolution 3D lidar sensors for use in autonomous vehicles, robotics, drones, mapping, defense, and security cameras. Currently Mark serves as the Chief Technology Officer for Ouster and is responsible for the design and development of Ouster’s lidar sensors, as well as the company’s overall technical strategy. On March 12, 2021, Ouster Inc. became a publicly traded company on the New York Stock Exchange.