By Stephanie Pawlowski

BLOOMINGTON - Six people will be inducted into the Bloomington High School and District 87 Hall of Fame over the homecoming weekend.

The list this year includes Dotty Mitchell, John Pratt Sr., Fred Prillaman, Millicent Roth, Betty Acklin, Robert Bryant, Russel Francois and Susan Hurliman.

Mitchell, who is being inducted into the BHS Hall of Fame, graduated in 1957. She served as the Dist. 87 Supervisor of Food Services from 1984 to 1994 and started the first computerized card system for the lunch program. She also started the breakfast program in Dist. 87.

Pratt, also a BHS Hall of Fame inductee, graduated in 1945. As the Dist. 87 attorney, he represented the district in a variety of legal matters including annexations, student discipline, labor, asbestos and real estate. He also appears with the football team in Our Proud History, Bloomington Public Schools, District 87 Sesquicentennial.

Prillaman, a BHS inductee, graduated in 1961. He was class president, co-captain of the football team and served on the student council. He organized and wrote the articles of incorporation and by-laws for the Twin City Swim Conference Inc. He practices environmental and construction law.

Roth, the final BHS inductee, graduated in 1993. She worked as State Rep. Dan Brady's Community Relations Liasion and in 2002 joined the McLean County state's attorney's office then the public defender. In 2005, she started work at State Farm and in 2012 was promoted to auto claims section manager for State Farm in Charlottesville, Va. Roth served on the Dist. 87 board from 2003 to 2012 and served as president for 2010 to 2011.

The Dist. 87 Hall of Fame inductees include Acklin, who was one of the early teachers trained in special education and was a founding member of the organization for coordinators of special education in Illinois. She was the first principal of the Sarah Raymond Early Childhood Education Center. After she retired, Acklin volunteers and established an after-school mentoring program at Irving Elementary.

Bryant served as a teacher at BHS, Washington Elementary principal and BHS principal from 1970-1985. Throughout his 21 years of service to District 87 and BHS, his goal was always to make it a source of pride in its academic and extracurricular activities for students and the District 87 community.

Francois is the founder of Francois Associates Architects LLC. He's been involved in renovations to Dist. 87 schools since 1993, including major renovations at BHS to the media center, cafeteria, athletic field complex and entrances. 

And, Hurliman, the final Dist. 87 inductee, was a teacher at Washington from 1990-2008. She was awarded the Illinois Board of Education 'Those Who Excel.' “What a joy it is to see them succeed and to hear those words…’It all started in Kindergarten, Mrs. Hurliman,'" Hurliman said.

The inductees will be honored during the first and second quarters of the Oct. 5 homecoming football game.

Stephanie Pawlowski can be reached at Stephanie.Pawlowski@Cumulus.com.