News - PBL Education Foundation

2025 Hall of Fame Inductees

Congratulations to the 2025 Hall of Fame Inductees! Paul Flessner Ford Central High School, Class of 1977 Flessner is a distinguished alumnus of Ford Central High School. He has achieved remarkable success in the technology industry and demonstrated exceptional leadership and philanthropic commitment. After graduating from Ford Central, Paul continued his education at Illinois State University, majoring in business and information technology and graduating with a bachelor’s degree in 1981. [...]

secretary2025-10-22T21:07:50-05:00October 22nd, 2025|Hall of Fame|Comments Off

2024-25 IMPACT Report

Why do you need more money? Many people reach out to us throughout the year asking this question. “You already have over one million dollars, why don’t you spend that money before asking for more?” YES! We do have a very healthy million-dollar balance in The PBL Endowment Fund.* HOWEVER, this money is not in our general fund but in a separate investment fund that has policies regarding investing, spending [...]

secretary2025-10-22T20:52:53-05:00October 22nd, 2025|Annual Report|Comments Off

PBL Education Foundation Welcomes Three New Board Members

The PBL Education Foundation is pleased to announce the addition of three community members to its board: Kennedy Glazik, Kandace Hofer and Dylan Reetz. Kennedy and Kandace will serve 2-year terms, while Dylan will serve a 3-year term. “We are thrilled to welcome Dylan, Kennedy, and Kandace to our board,” said Robin Niewold, PBL Education Foundation Chairman. “Their diverse backgrounds, community commitment, and passion for education will be valuable assets as we continue our [...]

secretary2025-02-25T19:36:08-06:00February 25th, 2025|Press Release|Comments Off

2024 Hall of Fame Inductees

Congratulations to the 2024 Hall of Fame Inductees! Carl Hudson, Jr. Paxton High School, Class of 1960 Carl Hudson Jr. is a member of the Paxton Community High School graduating class of 1960. After graduating high school, Carl went on to complete his Bachelors of Science in Pharmacy from Purdue University in 1965. Carl has since made significant contributions in his career and in the Paxton community. These accomplishments include owning Hudson Drug [...]

secretary2024-10-13T18:36:50-05:00October 13th, 2024|Hall of Fame|Comments Off

2024 Annual Campaign

“You may not see the fruit of today’s work, but you have seeded a lifetime of knowledge.” -Anonymous You know how easy it is for me, a farmer’s wife of 46 years, to come up with analogies for planting seeds? VERY easy! But I will leave planting seeds in the ground to our farmers and ask you, instead, to help us plant seeds in our students’ minds. Seeds get planted when [...]

secretary2024-10-13T18:29:33-05:00October 13th, 2024|Annual Campaign|Comments Off

2023-24 IMPACT Report

“Schools can’t become the best places for students to learn and grow unless we make them the best places for teachers to work and grow.” - Julie Hasson This quote resonated with me when I came across it the day after a board meeting. At that meeting, we voted to allocate $21,000 for staff grants that will be made available to PBL’s K-12 teachers. How many times have you had a great idea you hoped you [...]

secretary2024-10-13T18:26:24-05:00October 13th, 2024|Annual Report|Comments Off

Prairieland CEO Update

Prairieland CEO is an entrepreneur education program offered to students in 3 area school districts, including PBL Community School District #10. The program is supported by numerous Central Illinois businesses and organizations, of which PBL Education Foundation is a supporter. Throughout the year students, led by the program facilitator, learn various parts of creating, owning and running their own business. The program offers a CEO Trade Show at the conclusion [...]

secretary2023-10-27T10:26:45-05:00October 27th, 2023|Updates|Comments Off

Carl Hudson – Many Thanks!

Carl Hudson, a founding member of the PBL Education Foundation and past president has resigned after 26 years with our organization. Carl has been instrumental in the success of the foundation and has held many offices and roles throughout his tenure. One of his most impressive roles has been as co-chair of the Endowment Fund. With his joint efforts the value of the fund is currently over $724,000. His ability [...]

secretary2023-10-27T10:17:48-05:00October 27th, 2023|Updates|Comments Off

Creating Lifelong Readers
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Creating Lifelong Readers

Book Fairs, Updates

Creating Lifelong Readers

“A reader lives a thousand lives before he dies . . . The man who never reads lives only one.” George R.R. Martin The PBL Education Foundation believes that reading is the building block for all subject areas. In order to instill a love of reading, students need the opportunity to read. Our libraries do a great job of supplying a variety of reading materials for our students, but the [...]

secretary2023-11-04T19:52:59-05:00October 27th, 2023|Book Fairs, Updates|Comments Off

2023 Hall of Fame Inductees, Beverly J. Brown, Cliff Hastings, Mark Frichtl

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 [...]

secretary2023-10-27T09:57:17-05:00October 27th, 2023|Hall of Fame|Comments Off