M-R to Honor Sandstrom ’98

MONMOUTH, Ill. – This year’s inductees into the Monmouth-Roseville Foundation Hall of Achievement used their many accomplishments as Zipper and Panther student-athletes as a springboard to career success.

At 10 a.m. Sept. 28, Mel Blasi, Heidi Borden Anderson and Mark Sandstrom will be inducted in a ceremony at Monmouth’s First United Methodist Church, 221 E. Broadway. The induction ceremony will be preceded by a coffee and cookie reception at 9:30 a.m.

The other honoree at the induction ceremony will be retired English teacher Jonalyn Heaton, who will receive the Distinguished Service Award.

The ceremony coincides with M-R’s homecoming weekend. The inductees will have a busy day on Sept. 27, visiting high school classrooms, attending a junior high assembly and being recognized at the homecoming parade and football game.

MARK SANDSTROM: Monmouth College was the bridge between his time as a standout at Roseville High School to his successful coaching career. Mark Sandstrom

It’s quite possible that Sandstrom has visited every Illinois high school gymnasium in the western half of the state from Carbondale to Springfield to Peoria to the Quad Cities. Some of those gyms were the site of Roseville High School games during his four years as a varsity player for the Panthers from 1990-94.

The 1998 Monmouth College graduate then got into coaching, starting at Abingdon High School, where his first four teams combined for 84 victories, two regional crowns and a sectional title. He moved on to Columbia High School in 2005, racking up 252 victories and six regional titles during his first 14-year stint in charge of the Eagles. Three years ago, he returned to lead Columbia to back-to-back 23- and 28-win seasons.

For the past 20 years, Sandstrom has also returned regularly to his alma mater, directing the popular Monmouth College MDS Shootout, which has brought thousands of basketball players and their families to town from throughout the state.

MEL BLASI: The veteran golf coach has experienced success at all his stops, including a state title when he led the Monmouth Zippers program.Mel Blasi

In his playing days at Monmouth High School, Blasi was an integral part of the 1981-82 basketball team, which won 25 games in a row before falling to Lawrenceville in the Class A state championship game.

Blasi was also a standout golfer, placing seventh at the 1980 state meet as the Zippers took third as a team. Fifteen years later, Blasi was in charge of the golf program as Monmouth won the 1995 state title.

In between, Blasi earned his bachelor’s degree from Western Illinois University – receiving a Mid-Continent Universities Conference Player of the Year honor – and a master’s degree from Southern Illinois University. Blasi had two stints as coach of WIU’s men’s golf team, leading the Leathernecks from 1988-90 and from 1998-2018. He was a four-time Summit League Golf Coach of the Year.

Additionally, Blasi was responsible for all golf course operations and management, led the women’s team for the majority of his time in Macomb and fundraised more than $2 million for WIU athletics.

As a service coordinator for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, he directed more than 100 volunteers in service projects throughout the city of Macomb.

In 2018, Blasi shifted to Division III collegiate golf, taking over the men’s program at Central College in Pella, Iowa, where he is still the coach today. Under his leadership, the Dutch have posted top-three finishes in the American Rivers Conference each season of his tenure.

HEIDI BORDEN ANDERSON: The record-setting swimmer and former Division I athlete and coach is a colonel in the United States Army.Heidi Borden Anderson

A simplified version of Anderson’s story is from Waterbug to colonel in the United States Army’s Adjutant General Corps, with 23 years of service.

Anderson attended Willits Elementary School, Central Junior High School and Monmouth High School, all the while competing at a high level with the Warren County YMCA Waterbugs swim team.

After graduating from MHS in 1997, she enrolled at the United States Military Academy in West Point, New York. While studying toward her degree, she was a four-time All-Patriot League selection and two-time team MVP while competing for Army’s swim team. At the time of her graduation in 2001, the award-winning athlete held Army’s records in the 50- and 100-meter freestyle. She then served as a graduate assistant coach for the team, helping to lead more than 100 cadet-athletes.

Currently, Anderson is based in McChord, Washington, serving as the deputy recovery care officer for the Regional Health Command-Pacific. She provides policy compliance and operational guidance and support related to the Army’s Recovery Care Program of six medical treatment facilities, two soldier recovery units and a veterans affairs polytrauma center within a five-state area. In her role, she directs a staff of military and civilian program analysts, clinicians, and mobilization and operations specialists.

Anderson has also served the military as a battalion commander, company commander, human resources manager and budget manager. Her assignments have taken her to California and Arizona, in addition to the Pacific Northwest.

The mother of four resides with her family in Puyallup, Washington.

Jonalyn Heaton

Heaton taught junior high English for 18 years, but she has also served area students in a number of other ways, including 26 years as an art presenter through the American Association of University Women and the Buchanan Center for the Arts. Heaton has also served as a first grade one-on-one reading assistant and been part of the district’s kindergarten lunch assistance team, as well as Faith United Presbyterian Church’s afterschool program.