Ben Hunter heads for home
A popular history teacher and coach at Chester High School will not be returning this fall. Instead, Ben Hunter has accepted a position teaching and coaching at Kewanee High School in Kewanee, Illinois.
Hunter lost his father in 2020 and his mother is living alone in Biggsville, a little over an hour from Kewanee.
"I am far away from home and miss my family," he said.
Hunter began his Chester High School career in 2015. He taught history and has been an assistant coach for football and boys basketball, and head coach of the boys track & field team and the Lady Jackets golf team.
Hunter was born in Biggsville, where he attended grade school and high school, graduating in 2002. After high school he attended Monmouth College where he played running back for the Monmouth Fighting Scots Football Team and earned a bachelor's degree in history.
After graduating from Monmouth, Hunter began teaching social studies at Westmer Secondary School in Joy, Illinois, where he also coached football, basketball and track.
For his graduate studies in Sports Management, Hunter attended Western Illinois University, where he was a graduate assistant for the Leathernecks Athletic Department. While there, he learned a lot about sports marketing and specialized in Facilities and Event Management. He earned a Master's Degree in Sports Management and Marketing in 2013.
From 2012-2015 Hunter taught special education at Orion Middle School in Orion, Illinois. He also coached middle school basketball and high school football and track.
In the fall of 2015 Mr. Hunter accepted a position at Chester High School.
"I have enjoyed my time at CHS and really value the friendships that I have made," he said. "The hardest part about leaving is not getting to see the kids develop that I have taught. I will definitely miss my students and will miss getting to see them graduate and succeed in life."
Hunter is the youngest of four, and has two older brothers and an older sister. The sister is moving back to western Illinois after years in Minneapolis, while the brothers are within a 40-minute drive of Biggsville.
"It will be nice for all four of us siblings to be close to Mom," he added.
Another big draw in Kewanee will be teaching and coaching alongside two of his best friends.
"When I was at Monmouth College playing football, two of my best friends and teammates always talked about the three of us some day working and coaching together," Hunter said. "Both of them coach football at Kewanee. They contacted me about the teaching position that opened up at Kewanee and encouraged me to consider applying."
He got the job. Moreover, his friends offered him an assistant coaching position for Kewanee football.
"Our lifetime dream of all three of us being together to teach and coach will apparently come true," he added. "And being near my family ... makes the package complete!"
Kewanee High School has about 4,000 students. Hunter will teach in an "alternative" classroom, helping students in credit recovery.
"Many of them have truancy issues and they miss school a lot," he explained. "Many are really far behind their classmates and they can't be in the regular classrooms. I will be trying to help them catch up and learn to become successful."
Hunter will also be the offensive coordinator and linebackers coach for the Kewanee Boilermakers.
Asked for his highlights at Chester, Hunter said he's got a lot of great memories.
"If I had to pick one special event or time, however, it would have to be back in 2018-19 when I was an assistant coach for Brad Norman's Yellow Jacket basketball team. We went undefeated in the Black Diamond Conference that year. Unfortunately lost to West Frankfort at home in the IHSA Regional Tournament.
"But I had a lot of good years with the kids here at CHS!"
Hunter will remain at CHS through the end of July. He has started looking for housing and will be making trips to Kewanee to take part in some of the summer football workouts.