SJO recognizes the voice of Spartan sports, Keith Sjuts inducted into Hall of Fame

Keith Sjuts joins Hall of Fame
St. Joseph-Ogden school district superintendent Brian Brooks presents Spartan alumn Keith Sjuts with a Hall of Fame plaque during a halftime ceremony at Friday's home football game against Central Catholic. Photo: PhotoNews Media/Clark Brooks

Keith Sjuts was one of four individuals inducted into the St. Joseph-Ogden Athletic Hall of Fame at Friday's Homecoming game Bloomington Central Catholic. He joins Kelly Duitsman Hunt, Dick Duval, and Stan Harper among the Class of 2021 inductees.

A lifelong member of Immanuel Lutheran Church in Flatville, Sjuts was the voice of SJO football and basketball for more than 20 seasons. He wore the Spartan basketball uniform all four years of his prep career and earned first-team recognition for both all-conference and all-area teams his senior year at St. Joseph-Ogden High School.

Learn more about his athletic career and success after high school in his bio below.



Biography

Keith Sjuts is a 1977 graduate of St. Joseph-Ogden High School. In high school, Keith played baseball for one year and ran track for one year. He played basketball all four years of his high school career. Keith was selected to the 1st Team All Area and 1st Team All Conference teams his senior year.

After high school, Keith became Branch Manager of Safety Clean, as well as a member of Corporate National Blitz Team for Safety Clean. He was a Co-Owner of TK Wendl’s. In 1994, he started working at Zep, Inc. and was the National Rookie of the Year. He was also the National Account Manager and Sales Trainer of Zep Inc. Besides work, he was able to have some fun and continue his athletic career by playing on the Regional Traveling Softball Team with his brother Mark and brother-in-law Wally.

Keith was the voice of the Spartans for over 20 years, serving as the announcer for both the football and boys basketball teams. One of his favorite memories was announcing the only state semi final football game hosted at SJO against Williamsville. He also always enjoyed the rivalry games between SJO and Unity.

Keith has been a lifelong member of Immanuel Lutheran Church in Flatville where he has held several positions on the council, including President of the church council. Keith takes great pride in being a part of the St. Joseph-Ogden community his entire life.

He wants to thank his team of people who have surrounded him to help him earn this great accomplishment, especially his most valuable team member, Roger Koss.

Keith’s greatest joys are his son Ryan, daughter Rylee and granddaughter Charlie.



* Biography provided courtesy of St. Joseph-Ogden High School

Spartans induct Kelly Duitsman Hunt into Hall of Fame

Kelly Duitsman Hunt receives her Hall of Fame plaque from St. Joseph-Ogden superintendent Brian Brooks during halftime during the Spartans' home football game against Central Catholic. Photo: PhotoNews Media/Clark Brooks

Kelly Duitsman Hunt was one of four individuals inducted into the St. Joseph-Ogden Athletic Hall of Fame at Friday's Homecoming game Bloomington Central Catholic. She was joined by Dick Duval, Stan Harper, and Keith Sjuts as members of the Class of 2021 inductees.

Duitsman Hunt was a two-sport athlete for the Spartans who earned state-wide recognition for her success on the softball field. In addition to her own record-breaking accomplishments, she was intrumental in the SJO softball program winning its first regional title.

Learn more about her success as an athlete and after high school in her bio below.



Biography

Kelly Duitsman Hunt is a 1996 graduate of St. Joseph-Ogden High School.

Kelly was Salutatorian of her class, an Illinois State Scholar, Junior Class Vice President, a member of Student Council, National Honor Society, and a part of the Principal’s Advisory Committee. She was also awarded the Parkland College Presidential Board of Trustees Scholarship.

Kelly was also a two-sport athlete. In volleyball, she was selected to the All Conference team 3 years, the All Area team 2 years and was on the team that won the school’s first ever Regional title and first Sectional Championship appearance.

In softball, Kelly was selected to the All Conference and All Area teams all four years of high school. Her senior year, Kelly was player of the year, and selected to the All State Team and the Chicago Tribune Super 60 Classic All Star Team. In 1995, her team made it to the Sweet 16 at the State tournament. Not only did Kelly’s teams succeed, but she also personally broke multiple school records of her time, with 19 season doubles and 47 career doubles (which were both a new state of IL record), 200 career hits, 62 season hits, 154 career RBIs, 50 season RBIs, 9 season home runs, a .473 career batting average, a .590 season batting average, 153 career runs, and 42 season runs.

After high school, Kelly earned an Associates in Business Administration from Parkland and a Bachelor of Science in Accountancy from the University of Illinois. She earned her CPA designation in 2000 and began working at Martin Hood Friese and Associates until 2016.

In 2016, she became the Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer for Farm Credit Illinois and is still currently working in that capacity.

Kelly is a former Champaign-Urbana Schools Foundation Board Member and Treasurer. Currently, she is a Board Member and the Treasurer of the Parkland College Foundation. She is also a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants, the Illinois CPA Society, and the Executive Club of Champaign County. In 2013, she was a part of the Central Illinois Business Magazine 40 under 40, and in 2018 she became a Parkland College Distinguished Alumna.

Kelly lives in Champaign and is married to Greg Hunt. She has two daughters, Avery and Annie Loschen.



* Biography provided courtesy of St. Joseph-Ogden High School

Money Matters:
Why liquidity and diversification is important in your investment plan

This is part 2 in this month's Money Matters with guest columnist Jake Pence. You can read part one What's the best way to invest in your future here.

by Jake Pence, Guest Columnist

Next, picking up where we left off, we need to talk about liquidity.

To keep it simple, liquidity is how easily an asset can be bought and/or sold. Another way to think about liquidity is how easily the asset can be turned into cash. The stock market has a clear advantage in terms of liquidity, but it still warrants a discussion.

Stocks are very liquid. In fact, stocks are so liquid that last summer, I was able to sell Amazon for $1,800/share, Tesla for $250/share, and Zoom for $85/share without Robinhood tapping me on the shoulder and saying, “You might not want to do that …”

Those companies now trade for $3,300/share, $1,700/share, and $275/share, respectively, and I still live in my parent’s basement.

I don’t tell that story to downplay liquidity because having quick access to your capital is advantageous in many scenarious; however, I tell that story to highlight how liquidity makes it easy for an investor to make emotional, rash, and in my case, downright stupid decisions. At that time, I did not have the trading savvy or financial discipline to hold a stock for more than a year.

All in all, if you value having easy access to your capital and have the financial discipline to manage that liquidity, then the stock market will better suit you.

Real estate, on the other hand, is a relatively illiquid investment. Whenever you want to pull money out via a refinance or cash out of the investment via a sale, then there is going to be a process that you must follow. The process will likely take a few months. Depending on the transaction, you could fall on either side of that timeline; however, it doesn’t take seconds like it does with stocks. If you don’t need your capital in the short-term, then real estate investing will be a great option for you.

Another important criteria is asset diversification. Diversification is the act of placing your investments in a variety of asset types, industries, etc. so that your exposure to any one asset type is limited.

Diversification is extremely important in an investment portfolio because if you’re only invested in airline stocks and then a global pandemic halts all air travel … well, you’re in trouble.

It is easier to diversify your portfolio within the stock market than it is real estate. You can still diversify your real estate portfolio, but it will take more than a few hours on Yahoo Finance to do so.

To make diversification even easier for stock market investors, you could buy a mutual fund that is already diversified. In real estate, you can diversify your portfolio by purchasing different asset types (apartments, self-storage, single-family-homes, etc.) in different locations (Illinois, Indiana, Tennessee, etc.). This will take more time, capital, and energy; however, it can and should be done.

I firmly believe that a well-balanced portfolio should include both stocks and real estate.

If your entire portfolio is in stocks, then you are heavily reliant upon company executives, Wall Street, and government decision makers for your financial future. If your entire portfolio is in real estate, then the cyclical nature of real estate markets will present challenges. Overall, a combination of Wall Street and Main Street investing will create a balanced portfolio.

In my next installment I will briefly discuss taxes and how investing can potentially lower your tax annual liability.




About the author:
• Jake Pence is the President of Blue Chip Real Estate and a consultant for Fairlawn Capital, Inc.. A 2019 graduate from the Gies College of Business at the University of Illinois, he is a 2016 graduate from St. Joseph-Ogden High School where he was a three-sport athlete for the Spartans. You can view his latest acquisitions and advice on his YouTube channel here.

Money Matters: What's the best way to invest in your future?


by Jake Pence, Guest Columnist

"Real estate or the stock market - which should you invest your money in today?"

This is a fundamental question that many investors must answer at some point on their investing journey. I have consumed hours and hours of content on this exact topic and if there is one thing that I know for certain, it is this … the people creating the content are biased, myself included.

I heavily favor real estate investing over the stock market because it best compliments my goals and skill set, but I also opportunistically invest in stocks.

So … let’s weave through this complex topic and discuss five key points in an objective, fact-driven lens rather than a lens clouded with my personal agenda and bias. The key points I’ll discuss will be barriers to entry, liquidity, diversification, taxation, expected returns, and investment experience.

Barriers to Entry

A widely used economic term, a barrier to entry is a start-up cost and/or obstacle that prevents an individual from easily doing business. When it comes to real estate and the stock market, knowledge and capital will be the two most prominent barriers to entry.

I have found that the barriers to entry for real estate are often overstated because of how easy it is to buy a stock. For better or worse, the barrier to entry to the stock market is almost nonexistent.

If you have a bank account, a smart phone, and a pulse then you can create a Robinhood account and start trading stocks. Therefore, everyone has access to the stock market and can start trading.

In my opinion, that’s a pro and a con, but it does provide equal opportunities and people with small amounts of capital can start putting it to work. Before you put your capital to work, I highly recommend educating yourself on the stock market and how to make educated investment decisions.

While I have found real estate barriers to entry to be overstated, they are still more difficult to overcome than entering the stock market.

Knowledge, capital, and time are the roadblocks you must overcome to invest in real estate.

Knowledge is the easiest to overcome because books, podcasts, and the internet have all of the answers you need. I’m extremely grateful for my education at the University of Illinois, but I learned more about real estate investing from books, podcasts, and YouTube videos than I did in my 400-level real estate investing class from one of the best finance and real estate programs in the country.

Capital is the next obstacle and this one held me back for a few years, but real estate investing should be treated as a team sport. If you have the knowledge, but no capital, then partner with someone who has the capital, but limited knowledge.

If you’re wondering how a cash-poor 22 year old who lives in his parent’s basement, writes articles, and makes YouTube videos is a full-time real estate investor … it's because he partners with people who do have the capital (but limited time and/or knowledge) to invest in real estate.

The last obstacle is time and the common saying to disparage real estate investing is, "I don’t want to get called about a leaky toilet at 3AM."

Well, you’re right. That can happen. However, there are also additional ways to invest in real estate that don’t require that time commitment, such as becoming a passive investor in a real estate syndication.

Before you decide real estate investing isn’t for you, make sure you educate yourself on the different ways you can invest in real estate.

In my next article we will look at the next two key points, liquidity and diversification.




About the author:
• Jake Pence is the President of Blue Chip Real Estate and a consultant for Fairlawn Capital, Inc.. A 2019 graduate from the Gies College of Business at the University of Illinois, he is a 2016 graduate from St. Joseph-Ogden High School where he was a three-sport athlete for the Spartans. You can view his latest acquisitions and advice on his YouTube channel here.

Money Matters: Five tips to weather the COVID-19 recession


by Jake Pence

The National Bureau of Economic Research’s Business Cycle Dating Committee has officially announced that the United States has entered a recession. The United States has seen a record 128 consecutive months of economic expansion before COVID-19 bottlenecked the nation’s physical, mental, and economic health. However, this article is not going to be a COVID-19 or recession pity party; in fact, it will be quite the opposite as a mentor once told me, "Never let a good crisis go to waste."

Before we dive into the weeds, let’s preface these tips with the fundamentals of money management in a recession. First, you must live within your means and minimize discretionary spending. Second, you must prioritize saving and building an emergency fund of at least six months worth of expenses.

Third, you must continue to make your debt payments. If you want to learn more about any of those fundamentals then you’re a google search away, but my goal is to give you tangible, long-term tactics that will set you up for success both during and after this recession.

ANALYZE YOUR SPENDING

To effectively live within your means, you must understand where your money is going and be proactive with your cash flow management. In the book Good to Great by Jim Collins, he wrote, “You must maintain unwavering faith that you can and will prevail in the end, regardless of the difficulties, and at the same time, have the discipline to confront the most brutal facts of your current reality, whatever they might be.” Well … it’s time to confront the brutal facts about your spending and adjust your budget accordingly.

Whether your budget is in an excel document, on a piece of paper, or in your head, it is important that you have an understanding of the money you earn and the money you spend. In a recession, it can be difficult to earn more money; therefore, it is important to spend less money.

You can do this by checking your bank account, credit cards, and wallet on a weekly basis to see how much money you spent and what you spent it on. This will allow you to confront the brutal facts of your spending and identify what is necessary (groceries, housing, insurance, etc.) and what is discretionary (eating out, new clothes, subscription services, etc.).

IMPROVE YOUR CREDIT SCORE

Recessions affect almost every nook and cranny of the economy, especially credit markets. When credit markets tighten, it becomes difficult to get approved for a mortgage, car loan, credit card, or any other type of financing. Although it may be difficult, it is NOT impossible to gain access to financing in a recession. Access to financing is often what separates individuals who capitalize on the opportunities a recession presents, discounted asset prices, from those who don’t. Consequently, individuals with strong credit scores will be first in line at the credit market.

Your credit score consists of five components: total accounts, length of credit, credit inquiries, utilization rate, and missed payments. The most important components are the credit utilization rate and missed payments. To best explain your credit utilization rate, let’s say you have a credit card with a $1,000 credit line and a $500 current balance. This is equal to a 50% credit utilization rate ($500/$1,000).

You should maintain less than a 30% utilization rate across all forms of credit to improve your score. Missed payments are self-explanatory; however, it may become tempting to skip a credit card payment when times are tough. Do not give into this temptation as missed payments are the most important component of your credit score and will affect your score long after the recession ends.

REVIEW YOUR TAX PLAN

Does the word "taxes" make you cringe? Cry? Worse? Well … taxes, taxes, taxes. For most individuals, taxes will be the greatest expense over the course of their lifetime. However, there are many LEGAL ways to pay less taxes so that you can keep more of your hard earned money.

In fact, the overwhelming majority of the United States tax code discusses how to legally reduce your taxes. You do not need to read the entire tax code, but you need to talk with an accountant who (hopefully) understands the tax code and will create an efficient tax plan for your unique situation. There is a critical difference between an accountant who prepares your taxes and an accountant who prepares your taxes and minimizes your taxable income through proper tax planning. When you can no longer increase your income or reduce your expenses, then focus on (legally) keeping more of your money.

If you don’t currently have an accountant or you file using a free online platform, then simply start by scheduling a meeting with a local accountant to review your financial situation. Most accounting firms will offer a free consultation to decide whether or not you will benefit from tax planning.

One other critical tip, you often will get what you pay for in terms of accountants and not all accountants are created equally. Don’t be afraid to pay a little extra for a great accountant who saves you far more money than a cheaper alternative, so be sure to focus on how much they save you rather than how much they cost you.

DIVERSIFY YOUR INVESTMENT PORTFOLIO

The purpose of diversification is to mitigate your risk. There is risk associated with any investment, and that risk is amplified in an economic downturn. Therefore, it is important to have a variety of investments in your portfolio. For example, if the stock market crashes and you have 100% of your investment portfolio in stocks, then your portfolio value will take a tremendous hit.

Alternatively, if the stock market crashes and you have 50% of your investment portfolio in stocks, 25% in bonds, and 25% in real estate, then your portfolio will not be as severely affected. When it comes to your financial portfolio, it is important to spread your eggs in a variety of baskets rather than loading them all into one basket.

Diversification can be done within each asset class. Let’s take a look at the 50% stocks, 25% bonds, and 25% real estate portfolio as an example. Within the 50% of your portfolio allocated to stocks, you should own stocks from different industries with a range of company valuations. An example would be owning shares of Amazon (e-commerce), Visa (financial services), and Caterpillar (industrial).

Within your 25% bond holdings, you can get a CD from a local bank or buy a government municipal bond; within your 25% real estate portfolio, you can own a single family home rental property in St. Joseph, IL and a duplex rental property in Champaign, IL. A few asset classes that you should consider investing in are stocks, exchange traded funds, bonds, real estate, real estate syndications, and precious metals such as gold and silver. Overall, prioritize diversification so when one sector of the economy is negatively affected, all of your chickens don’t come home to roost.

FOCUS ON THE BIG PICTURE

If you’re going to take away anything from this article then let it be this: don’t become emotional with your finances due to the recession. The next few years contain a lot of uncertainty, but don’t lose sight of your long-term financial plan and jeopardize your long-term financial security due to short-term economic events.

Whether this recession lasts 6 months to 3 years, it is still a very small period of your life. Make the necessary adjustments to your portfolio, live within your means, and actively manage your cash flow; however, do not become emotional and make rash decisions that will affect you long after this recession ends. We are in this for the long-haul.

Warren Buffett is a world-renowned investor and once said, "Only when the tide goes out do you discover who’s been swimming naked." Well … the tide is making its way out and time will tell who has prepared for this moment. If you feel vulnerable, then don’t become emotional or make rash decisions. Instead, cover yourself up while you still have time and make sure that you too, don’t let a good crisis go to waste.




About the author:
• Jake Pence is the President of Blue Chip Real Estate and a consultant for Fairlawn Capital, Inc.. A 2019 graduate from the Gies College of Business at the University of Illinois, he is a 2016 graduate from St. Joseph-Ogden High School where he was a three-sport athlete for the Spartans. You can view his latest acquisitions and advice on his YouTube channel here.

Trimble signs with Lindenwood University

After three seasons at the University of Wisconsin Parkside, Spartan basketball standout Brandon Trimble is on the move.

Yesterday, the 2017 St. Joseph-Ogden graduate sign on the Lindenwood University program in St. Charles, Missouri.

"I think Brandon is a great fit for our style of play," said head coach Kyle Gerdeman. "He is a guy who can score in a variety of ways, and his three years of experience at the DII level adds even more experience to our roster."

Trimble was named as the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference North Player of the Week in January. He scored 20 or more points in seven of the games he played this season and amassed 320 points during his 661 minutes on the floor for the Rangers. He played in 24 games while making 14 starts.

After redshirting his freshman year, Trimble played in 27 games during the 2018-19 season for UWP. He averaged 11 points per game and 3 rebounds per game.


Nix places third at Freedom 5K


Mike Nix runs toward the corner of Lincoln and Florida
Mike Nix, from St. Joseph, runs toward the corner of Lincoln and Florida Avenue during the Freedom 5K on Thursday. Crossing the finish line at 16:58.0, he finished third out of 26 runners in the Male 25 to 29 division. In all more than 400 athletes participated in this year's race. (Photo: PhotoNews Media/Clark Brooks)


On this day in 2017


John Ryan Thompsen running at the Illinois Marathon on this day in 2017.
On this day in April of 2017, Ryan Thompsen ran with 1,216 endurance runners at the Illinois Marathon. Thompsen, who ran both cross country and track while attending St. Joseph-Ogden High School, ran to a 1st place finish in the Mens 20-24 division, clocking in 2:33:08. He crossed the finish line 4th overall out of entire field on Saturday. Click here to see more photos from the 2017 Illinois Marathon. (Photo: PhotoNews Media/Clark Brooks)



Witruk pitches 11 innings, picks 2 wins for Cobras

While her kid sister was in the circle leading the Spartan softball team to a win over Tri-Valley on Saturday, St. Joseph-Ogden alumna Tori Witruk pitched 11 innings, allowing just five earned runs and striking out six, to help Parkland College softball program sweep Spoon River College on the road.

Nose to the grindstone, Witruk (7-1), who possesses a 2.71 ERA on the season after 14 appearances, help the Cobra's prevail 3-2 in game one and stop the bleeding in a the 13-10 nightcap. After picking up the wins for both contests, her seven victories are now a team-best so far this season.

In game one, the former Spartan allowed just two runs while escaping trouble in multiple innings to pick up win number six.

Morgan Parrish started game two for Parkland and hurled the first three innings of the conference slugfest. With the Cobras feeling the heat, Witruk stepped in to close out the game's final four innings, which included pitching a scoreless seventh frame.


#TBT: 14 years ago SJO baseball pounds Sages

The Sentinel, courtesy of PhotoNews Media, has more than 250,000 images from more than a decade and half of sport coverage at St. Joseph-Ogden High School at our fingertips. Each week, as space and time allows, we will publish great action photos, memorable moments and treasured images from the massive collection of images of Spartan athletes online and in your weekly paper.

SJO has had some pretty awesome baseball teams as of late. This week's Throwback Thursday, or #TBT, feature is from the Spartans' home baseball game against Monticello back on April 26, 2005. A few of these faces are still on the sidelines today as coaches, teachers and mentors.


Nick Bialeschki makes a throw to first.
St. Joseph-Ogden's Nick Bialeschki makes a throw to first in their home game against Monticello. The Spartans hammered their way to 10-1 victory after seven innings over the Sages. (Photo: PhotoNews Media/Clark Brooks)



SJO's Ben Gorman lays down a bunt.
Ben Gorman lays down a bunt in their home game against Monticello. (Photo: PhotoNews Media/Clark Brooks)



Mark Gones leads off second.
Spartan Mark Gones takes a big jump off second base. See more photos from the game here: SJO host Monticello. (Photo: PhotoNews Media/Clark Brooks)



Nick Sibbing takes big swing a Monticello pitch
Nick Sibbing takes big swing a Monticello pitch while batting for the Spartans. (Photo: PhotoNews Media/Clark Brooks)



Zac Isaksen rounds the bases after a home run.
Zac Isaksen slaps head coach Brad hand after rounding third base after crushing the ball for a SJO home run. (Photo: PhotoNews Media/Clark Brooks)



Mason Blacker runs to first base after putting the ball in play. (Photo: PhotoNews Media/Clark Brooks)



SJO's Ben Gorman throws at pitch against Monticello.
Ben Gorman brings the heat unloading a pitch on at a waiting Monticello batter. See more photos from the game here: SJO host Monticello. (Photo: PhotoNews Media/Clark Brooks)



Can't wait until next week for more photos from the archives? Search for your favorite athlete by name, sport or date of the event in the PhotoNews Media online photo archives.

She's got it


St. Joseph-Ogden basketball alumna Alyssa Beals is all smiles as she catches a souvenir basketball while taking in Monday night's home game between the Spartans and visiting Unity. SJO blasted the Rockets 59-27 in their regular season Illini Prairie Conference contest. (Photo: PhotoNews Media/Clark Brooks)




More Sentinel Stories



Photo Galleries


Monticello Basketball vs Seneca
January 11, 2025
30 Photos

January 11, 2025
37 Photos

January 11, 2025
31 Photos

January 4, 2025
42 Photos

December 14, 2024
39 Photos

December 7, 2024
27 Photos