March 5, 2026 Local Stories in and Around St. Joseph, Illinois

5 questions with Brian Brooks

1. What is your favorite childhood holiday memory?
My favorite childhood holiday memories started each year at Thanksgiving. My mom had six other brothers and sisters, so she had a big family. We usually hosted Thanksgiving dinner and our whole family would come over. It instilled in me at an early age the importance of family, and kind of kicked off the holiday season for our family. 

And as a basketball junkie, I loved playing in Thanksgiving tournaments in high school. We played in a Thanksgiving basketball tournament at Lincoln and a Christmas tournament at Pekin while in high school. It created a love of holiday basketball tournaments for me of which I still enjoy going to today.

2. What is your favorite part of the holidays now?

Spending time with my wife and kids. Especially now having two of our kids be adults and living elsewhere. Great for Jen and I to have all 3 kids back home at same time. My favorite time of the year. (minus the weather!!)

3. What is your favorite Christmas song?

I don’t know that I have one. I enjoy listening to Christmas music in general during the holiday season. Especially the older/more traditional songs. I feel it helps remind us what truly matters in our very busy lives.

4. What is your favorite Christmas movie?

Christmas Vacation. We watch it as a family every year as a tradition.

5. What is your favorite holiday snack?

I don’t really have a favorite holiday snack. I probably need to stay away from all of them at this point!

Banner
Related Posts

Residential Electronics Collection Event scheduling taking place now

April 7, 2025

April 7, 2025

The online registration for Champaign County’s Spring Residential Electronics Collection Event is now open! The collection event will take place...

SJO advances to Regional title game

June 5, 2021

June 5, 2021

After a most unusual year that saw no postseason contests in any spring sports, 2021 is much different in that...

Heritage Junior High Honor Roll

November 9, 2020

November 9, 2020

Thanks to Appl Sanitary for sponsoring our honor rolls! Heritage Junior High has released the list of honor roll students...

Vendor profile: Frosty Fresh Freeze Dried Foods

August 9, 2024

August 9, 2024

Tell me about your business. Frosty Fresh Freeze Dried Foods. I sell mostly Freeze Dried candy so far. This winter...

Q and A with SJO Hall of Fame inductee Morgan Gooding 

October 3, 2025

October 3, 2025

1. How does it feel to be inducted into the hall of fame? Honestly, it was a surprise. So many...

Senior spotlight Eric Poe

February 7, 2020

February 7, 2020

Every week we ask a St. Joseph-Ogden senior five questions. This week we talked to Eric Poe. Thank you to...

Live at St. Joseph Village Board, April 8, 2025

April 8, 2025

April 8, 2025

Tonight the board is discussing the fiscal year 2025-26 budget. They are also considering an update to the code of...

Get to know senior SJO Marching Band member Paige Siegmund

October 21, 2022

October 21, 2022

My favorite thing about marching band is the people, and I think pretty much everyone is going to respond the...

Live at Village Board, Nov. 23

November 23, 2021

November 23, 2021

We are live at village board. Where we will discuss the Splash Pad and failed lift stations that cause sewer...

Live at St. Joseph Village Board July 8, 2025

July 8, 2025

July 8, 2025

We are discussing the community festival and fee structures tonight. There are no public comments. Asking for some details on...

Get to know our Little Princess Candidates: Annah Fiedler

August 9, 2024

August 9, 2024

What is your favorite part of summer?Favorite part of summer: riding bikes, going to the pool, and going boating at...

Get to know our Little Prince Candidates: Gracen Murphy

August 9, 2024

August 9, 2024

What is your favorite part of summer?Swimming What do you want to be when you grow up?An army man What...

St. Joseph CCSD #169 posts opening for school board

August 14, 2025

August 14, 2025

Earlier this week St. Joseph CCSD #169 announced a vacancy on the Board of Education. Lois Hewerdine resigned from the...

Get to know our Little Prince and Princess Candidates : Alayna Kelly-Mathey

August 9, 2024

August 9, 2024

We asked our Little Prince and Princess candidates 5 questions. Here are their answers. What is your favorite part of...

St. Joseph grade encourages parents to keep kids home if sick

January 8, 2025

January 8, 2025

St. Joseph Grade School is reminding parents to keep their children at home if they are sick. “Unfortunately this time...

Comments
Leave a Reply