It’s a big deal to be able to do business locally.  Brenda Beyers has been providing insurance and financial services to the Pawnee community and surrounding area for years.  “I’ve been here in this office for 20 years,” Brenda said. Most locals will recognize the office she is referring to as the revamped Dr. Gramm’s office located at 506 5th Street who ran his practice for decades!
Brenda is a transplant to the area although she is a central Illinois girl. “I was born and raised in Pana.  Before this, I was a Human Resource Director in Shelbyville, Illinois.”
Brenda and her husband Al thought they would retire in the Shelbyville area.  Their kids were in college and they had been at their jobs for years.  Then, opportunity came knocking!  Al got a great job opportunity in Auburn, Illinois and they decided to pull up stakes and move.  Job change occurred not only for Al, but for Brenda as well, and the solution came about in the strangest place!

“I was looking for a job and I ran into my former high school driver’s education teacher.  He was a manager for COUNTRY Financial.  He said, ‘Let me test you to be an agent.’  I tested and there was an opening here.  I was placed and it has been a wonderful experience,” Brenda said, amazed how the whole opportunity came about.
“Pawnee is such a unique and sweet town,” she said.  “Everyone is welcoming.” Brenda has found Pawnee to be a fun combination of Pana where she grew up and Oconee where her husband grew up, spelling brings it all together she jokes.
Working with people seems to come natural to Brenda, and working at COUNTRY Financial as a representative, she offers a variety of insurance options and financial services. 
There are many advantages to working with a local agent.  “Even though the system we work with here in the office is very high tech, clients can still walk in and drop off a payment if necessary.  We can do everything online here from the office. We can discuss items face to face.”

Brenda said clients stopping by has allowed opportunities for relationships to develop over the years. When working with a local agent like Brenda, the client is not just a name on a policy, but a person that she knows, with a personal story. The Pandemic has made it a bit more challenging for that one-on-one relationship that has always been ongoing in the past.  There have been a few changes like requiring electronic signatures, and going paperless, but both Brenda and her clients have adapted.

She noticed during the Pandemic that there has been a lot more interest in life insurance.  “More people are thinking about their mortality.  I can’t encourage enough to purchase life insurance when you are young and healthy.  I also believe you should always own a policy yourself instead of depending on a policy that is work related.  Many times if your job goes away, that work related policy goes away.” Having a policy in place outside the job will reduce the risk of being without life insurance.

The Pandemic has been a time when people may be considering doing without insurance because of less currency flow, however, there are ways to reduce insurance cost that are far less risky.  Brenda recommends that everyone review their policies from time to time even in non-pandemic years.  “You may find you forgot to remove that building you tore down, or to take off that property you don’t own anymore,” she said.

Other things to consider are deductibles.  “Doing a review is the first line of defense,” Brenda said.  “What level of risk can you transfer to your insurance?  What deductible can you afford?  Can you afford a larger deductible and reduce your premium if you need to spend less?”
There are so many questions that sitting down across a table from Brenda can answer. She has the experience and the love of the job and the community behind her.  Putting all your insurance needs in one basket can also save money, Brenda added.  COUNTRY Financial offers discounts for multiple products if clients combine their insurance needs.

“I have been totally blessed to work in this community and I couldn’t ask for a better group to work with,” Brenda said about COUNTRY Financial.  She explained how they have been so supportive on assisting with claims and providing answers to questions. COUNTRY Financial is part of the Illinois Farm Bureau family and has roots in agriculture which is important to a farming community like Pawnee.  In 2025, COUNTRY Financial will be 100 years old.
Brenda Beyers office is open from 9-6 Monday – Thursday, and 8 to noon on Friday.  “I am also available by appointment beyond these hours and on Saturdays,” she shared.
Brenda is still taking clients and welcomes your calls at 217-625-8424. Her website is   Brenda S Beyers - COUNTRY Financial Representative in Pawnee, IL.

Game Changer Indoor is the brainchild of Jeremy and Lisa Strawn.  Located right off Highway 104, in Pawnee, the Strawns have put together a place for youth baseball training to flourish no matter the season or the weather.  To find out what it is all about, they describe their business, “Game Changer Indoor is your space for indoor softball and 12U and under baseball training. We offer two 14 x 24 swing cages, two 14 x 50 machine-pitch cages, and a softball infield where the two machine-pitch cages retract.”

Besides all of this, they will eventually have a bonus room for parties or meetings as well.

Jeremy Strawn said before the building was used for Game Changer Indoor, it was the business headquarters for his daytime job, J.L Strawn Sports Construction.  “This was our corporate office for under a couple of different business names for ten years. We Incorporated in the 2000’s under the original company and Lisa and I married in 200, and in 2014 we formed J & L Strawn Sports Construction.”

Before incorporating Jeremy was doing business just under his own name.  Jeremy’s job involves sports, so Game Changer was a natural extension of what he has been doing for years.  “I build sports fields all over the US,” Jeremy said. 

Working recently in Louisiana, and Little Rock, he was finishing up fields for a college and a high school.  J.L. Strawn Sports Construction offers services from start to finish.  “We do everything,” Jeremy added.

This company not only has worked all over the US but has even worked with famous teams like the Miami Dolphins!  They also have worked on a local level as well planning and surfacing Carlinville and other local sports fields too.  From planning to design, consulting, engineering, and construction management, J.L. Strawn Sports Construction provides a full line of construction services for from site work, tracks, bleachers, lights, scoreboards, buildings, to natural or synthetic field surfacing. This expertise is obvious when entering the back portion of the building. While the front has an office appearance, the rear section of the building is softball all the way!

Jeremy is a Pawnee boy.  He grew up on the farm before branching out into the sports construction industry.  Lisa is from Moline, Illinois and received her B.A. from Monmouth College.  She finished up her education at University of Illinois Springfield and worked for the State of Illinois.  In 2011, she left the State and brought her expertise to the family business.  “Now she is the President and CEO, and I am the COO,” Jeremy said.

Since they moved their headquarters to Rochester, the building had sat empty for the last 2 years.  Jeremy said, “I showed Lisa a project that we did at LSU.  I said, how about we do something like that here?”

After gathering the cost and discussing it between themselves they decided to give it a try.  With two children, a son Cody 10, and daughter MacKenzie 11, this gave them a place to practice plus something proactive to do with the empty space. “In mid-October we came up with this,” Jeremy said.

Opening the second week of December, Game Changer Indoor offers 4,000 square feet of softball fun!  “Our objective is to offer a place for girls’ softball to practice.”

From the day they opened, they have been busy with teams and individuals alike scheduling practice times.  There are areas to practice swing techniques and infield techniques as well.  “Coaches can have infield and have a hitting drill here. They can field balls too,” Jeremy said. 

There are pitching machines, but players must bring their own balls due to current restrictions. Parents can sit in the upstairs loft viewing area and watch while their child practices there are benches set up for socially distanced watching.  Scheduling is done by calling or on the Game Changer Facebook page.

“There are 13-14 teams,” Jeremy said that have been scheduling practice as well as individuals.  There have even been members of the Lincoln Land and University of Illinois at Springfield girls practicing at Game Changers along with Culver Stockton team members as well. 

“We have also had a few guys from traveling softball teams’ practice after the games are done,” Jeremy added. 

Each practice, the coach or parent receives a code to get in because everything is set up on WIFI.  Parents can feel safe because from the minute a car pulls into the parking lot they are on camera and the same remains true until they walk out the door and pull out of the drive.  Game Changers wanted to ensure safety in all aspects.  Jeremy said, “We worked with the health department and I asked, ‘What do we have to do?"

Then they did everything requested.
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Pawnee is blessed with a place for youth to practice indoor baseball.  Jeremy Strawn brought business back to his hometown and hopes locals will take advantage of the service he offers.  A chance to work out in a facility with all the advantages of stadiums built across the US, what more could a sports kid ask for?  Call 217-625-7272 for more information.