BHS Hall of Fame member Jason Pfingsten was described as an “exceptional student-athlete” who was named the St. Cloud Times/KMOM Radio “Player of the Year” in baseball, and who played in the Minnesota state all-star football game.

 

Pfingsten attended Mankato State University (MSU), where he earned a bachelor’s degree in automotive engineering and a minor in automotive engineering.  He was a star player for the MSU Mavericks baseball team, earning both team captain and All-NCC Conference player status during his career.  His athletic achievements included second-place in school history in single-season runs-batted-in (RBI) and home runs, and second in career home runs for the team.

 

He has been employed at Liberty Paper, Inc. in Becker for the past 14 years, the past eight years as the engineering manager at the facility.  He is also active in the community, serving as a volunteer for the Meals-on-Wheels program and the Becker Dollars-for-Scholars fund raising project.

 

Pfingsten and his wife Kami have three children, sons Kaden and Karter and daughter Kierra.

 

The president of his graduating class, Mark Kolbinger, Jr. went on to earn a bachelor’s degree in English from St. Cloud State University (SCSU), a Master’s degree from St. Mary’s University and a Sixth Year certificate from SCSU.

 

Kolbinger, the 1999 “Teacher of the Year” at BHS, was an English teacher at the school for 14 years before being hired as the assistant principal.  During his career he has held a number of coaching positions for Bulldog teams, and was named the Mississippi 8 Conference “Assistant Coach of the Year”.  He also founded the highly-successful BHS Robotics Team in 2012, and has continued to serve as a coach on the team.

 

He is also the co-founder of two amateur baseball teams in the area, including the Becker Buzzards, on which he shares a roster spot with his fellow Hall-of-Fame inductee.

 

Kolbinger was a writer for the Sherburne County Citizen newspaper for 12 years, and served a term on the Becker City Council.  He currently serves as the chairperson for the Sherburne County Substance Use Prevention Coalition.

 

He and his wife, Kelly, have two daughters, Kaitlin and Kiara.

 

Since its inception in 1989, the Becker High School Hall of Fame has honored more than 50 school graduates, celebrating the impact each has made on their respective communities since graduation.  The Hall of Fame Committee meets once each year to consider candidates, and nominees remain on the list for consideration once their names are put forward.

 

Nominees may be living or deceased, as it is the goal of the Committee to honor Becker graduates from all periods in the school’s history.

To enter a BHS graduate’s name for consideration in the Hall of Fame, e-mail hofisd726.org.