Former teacher to be honored as Beloit Memorial High School reopens its Hall of Fame

BELOIT — The Beloit Memorial High School Hall of Fame will be “re-opened” by popular demand on April 17 when former teacher Deb Prowse is inducted.

The BMHS Hall of Fame was started in 1994 by Fran Fruzen, who worked as a teacher, assistant principal and district administrator in the district for 55 years. The last ceremony was held in 2019 when decorated educator Charlotte Hall from the Class of 1968 was honored.

In 2020, a Hall of Fame committee chose to induct Beloit businessman Tom Finley, BMHS Class of 1975, but the ceremony was set for April 11 and was canceled because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Instead, Fruzen met Finley outside the high school for a handshake.

The hall of fame committee then went dormant as the world grappled with the pandemic.

Deb Edmonds, principal’s secretary at Beloit Memorial, said several community members stopped in the past couple of years asking when the school would bring back the annual honor.

“People just missed having it,” Edmonds said. “They thought it was a good way to remember people.”

From 1994 to 2020, the Hall of Fame honorees ran the gamut between local and national figures and included people who excelled in business, the arts, athletics and academics.

Edmonds said the school established a 10-person planning committee to get it going again this year. BMHS Principal Emily Pelz was one of the members along with Athletic Director Dan Gratz. It included members from the JROTC, CTE academies, band, choir and even one student, National Honor Society President Lauren Higgins. For the first time, the now 96-year-old Fruzen is not a part of it.

Prowse is being honored for a 33-year education career that was capped off by helping BMHS build up its career and technical education offerings.

The 1986 BMHS graduate spent her first nine years as a teacher in the Beloit Turner district and the final 24 with the School District of Beloit. In 2021, Prowse switched from teaching to becoming the school’s career academy coach.

Under Prowse, the number of students earning industry-recognized credentials nearly doubled and the number of students taking part in the Youth Apprenticeship program tripled.

Under Prowse’s direction, BMHS became the first school outside of Edgerton to implement the Craftsman With Character program. Launched in Edgerton, it is a job shadow program where students spend part of the morning learning from skilled tradesmen at a number of local businesses. Since, the program has expanded considerably. Beloit Turner, The Lincoln Academy and South Beloit all have students in Craftsman With Character. Prowse retired after the last school year to join Craftsman With Character to introduce it to even more schools.