Blossoms Forever honors 5 BP grads
Gary Benson, a 1967 graduate of BPHS, gives a play-by-play of an important moment in the 2019 BPHS championship football team. After a stroke in 2015, Benson said he found purpose again by providing memories of Blossoms sports events from the 1940s to today -- thanks to that title game. Staff photo by Kay Fate
You simply don’t know what you’ll get at the Blooming Prairie Education Foundation’s annual banquet, but that’s sort of the best part.
Now in its 25th year of supporting all aspects of education in the community, the organization has provided an estimated $1 million worth of funding for learning opportunities.
Along the way, some of the “forward thinkers” wanted a way to honor graduates and keep them connected to the community and the school, said Judy Bishop, the group’s vice president.
“Out of this came our (Blossoms Forever) Hall of Fame,” she said at last weekend’s event.
Each of the five honorees was introduced by their nominator, presented with their award and asked to say a few words.
That’s where the best parts happened.
Craig Kruckeberg, Class of 1983
Distinctive Service Award
There was no avoiding the elephant in the room.
Kruckeberg, said Amy Hinzmann, who introduced him, is “overly vocal … has no filter … often gives unsolicited advice … and often wears his emotions on his sleeve.”
His passion about his family, his employees and the community, she said, “sometimes probably comes out sideways. But in the end, there’s good intent, whether we want to admit it or not.”
Her boss of seven years pushes employees to attend college courses; to receive professional certifications, often on company time, to better themselves; and encourages them to take part in the local ambulance service, fire department, church groups and local non-profits.
Kruckeberg has helped employees with medication costs, hearing aid costs and to secure housing, Hinzmann said. He founded the Leo Augusta Childcare Academy, has donated to the Veterans Memorial, Trinity Lutheran Church, and has remodeled and opened several businesses.
“Craig supports us, all of us, and we are very fortunate to have his support,” she said.
Kruckeberg downplayed it all.
“Without the support of (his wife) Robyn, my team – at Minimizer, at Stinar, now at Kruckeberg Industries – I should be up here with all of those people,” he said.
“As I look around this room … you all understand, it’s Blooming Prairie,” Kruckeberg said. “I’m just a guy. We love the community, we’re just doing it. We do it because this is where we’re from, because we love the town, and we just do it.”
Jack Jelinek, Class of 1959
Athletic Hall of Fame
Denny Turner had just told the crowd that “academics were not Jack’s strong suit,” when another voice could be heard.
“You don’t have to tell them everything,” Jelinek grumbled good-naturedly.
But it was his academics that the BPHS grad talked about, despite the fact that he played on the University of Minnesota’s 1960 National Championship and Rose Bowl team.
“The teacher I had in seventh grade is here tonight,” Jelinek said. “She’s the only reason I got out of seventh and eighth grade. I used to go up at the end of the six-week period and say, ‘what do I have to hand in to get a D-?’ She’d tell me, and she’d give me the D-.
“I’m very honored to have her here,” he said.
Most of the starters from his years on the Gophers’ football team are gone now, Jelinek said, before naming off several of his teammates.
“It’s no fun being 83,” he said after stumbling on one of their names.
“Thank you for this honor – and it is an honor. I appreciate it very much.”
Sarah Behnken Bianucci, Class of 1994
Athletic Hall of Fame
Introduced by John and Mary Worke, her basketball and volleyball coaches, respectively, Bianucci probably felt like a kid again.
“I was a friend of her brother, Jef, and I was over at their house a lot,” John Worke said. “Sarah was a little girl, running around, and always wanting to play with her brothers. She was always kind of getting in our way.”
By the time he took the helm of the girls’ varsity basketball team, Bianucci was a senior. She would go on to set several records that stand today.
But it was her brother, Jon Behnken, who was on her mind Saturday.
“My brother Jon isn’t able to be here,” Bianucci said through tears. “He would’ve been really proud of me.”
Behnken died unexpectedly in November 2023.
Bianucci also acknowledged her former BPHS coach Dean Meschke “for being my first inspiration and seeing opportunity for me.”
Her parents, brothers, husband and sons were present; she also pointed out her history teacher, computer teacher and art teacher, as well as her godparents.
“There are so many people in this room who have meant so much to who I am as a person,” she said, including her decision to become an educator herself.
“It comes back to being part of Blooming Prairie,” Bianucci said. “It’s a wonderful community … and foundations like this really make dreams come true.”
Nancy Clark, Class of 1979
Honored Staff
Perhaps the biggest surprise of the evening came from Clark, who is so reluctant to be in front of a crowd that she didn’t want to give her salutatorian address at her BPHS graduation ceremony.
She thanked her parents for valuable life lessons, and the Blooming Prairie School District for being an exemplary employer for the more than 40 years she worked there.
But, Clark said, “humor is important” – then launched into stories that included a student who bit a mercury thermometer in half; a face-off between a former principal and a student; and a couple examples of some exchanges that featured colorful language.
The stories drew laughter, then more laughter when Clark added, “it’s been a really fulfilling job over the years.”
Her time with the district brought her a “feeling of comfort,” she said, “and my coworkers became like family.”
Gary Benson, Class of 1967
Special Blossom Recognition
Benson did what he does best when he took the microphone.
“On Sept. 3, 2021, the Blooming Prairie football team scored more points – just barely – than they did last night against Kenyon-Wanamingo,” he said.
“That night, some kid named Drew Kittelson threw six touchdown passes; last night, his brother Brady threw only two.”
Benson was recognized for his commitment to Blooming Prairie athletics through a website that shares sports stories from the 1940s through today.
It was another football game that, in Benson’s words, “changed my life.”
After a stroke in 2015, the former radio broadcaster struggled to regain his speech and mobility – and his purpose.
Then came the 2019 Blooming Prairie football team’s championship season.
Benson watched – and on Saturday, gave the play-by-play, complete with reenactments – of a rushing play that ended with a Matthew Pryor touchdown.
“When he hit the turf in the end zone, that’s when I could be happy again,” Benson said. “I had something to focus on, and it’s carried me till now.
“That team, Matt Pryor and the bunch, basically threw me a rope in my sea of desperation, pulled me out, and landed me on a warm beach – in an ocean of hope.”