Change.js

/**
 * Anaonymous function to scrape and reform data.
 * @params {jQuery} $
 */
(function ($) {

  /**
   * Make an object where keys are years and values
   * are sorted arrays of people and hrefs.
   */
  const people = $('.column2a').children()    // Get children of fist column
    .add($('.column2b').children())           // add children of second column
    .filter(function () {                     // Filter by ...
      return !$(this).is('br');               // -> remove <br>
    })
    .filter(function () {                                       // Fitler By ...
      return !($(this).is('h2') && $(this).has('a').length);    // -> remove H2 with A
    })
    .toArray()                                // Get normal JS Array
    .reduce((arr, next, i) => {
      const newI = Math.floor(i / 2);         // get the new index based on pairs; 0&1 will be 0, 2&3 will be 1, etc...

      if (!arr[newI]) arr[newI] = {};         // make output object for this index

      if (i % 2 === 0) {                                                              // On even items
        arr[newI].year = +($(next).text().match(/(\d+)/)[1]);                         // -> get year from header
      } else {                                                                        // On Odd items
        let people       = $('a', next).toArray()                                     // -> get anchors
          .map(function (elem) {
            return [$(elem).text(), $(elem).attr('href')]
          })                                                                          //    keep text and href
          .filter(([name]) => !!name)                                                 //    remove links without names
          .map(([name, link]) => {                                                    //    each person
            let [_, first, last] = name.match(/^(.*) ([^\s]+)$/i);                    //    -> get first and last name
            if (/ v[ao]n$/i.test(first)) {                                            //       correct for van/von names
              const [_, newFirst, v] = first.toString().match(/^(.*) (v[ao]n)$/i);
              first                  = newFirst;
              last                   = `${v} ${last}`;
            }
            return {first, last, link};                                               //    return object with names and link
          })
        ;
        arr[newI].people = people;                                                  // asign to output object
      }

      return arr;

    }, [])
    .reduce((obj, next) => {
      let yr = `${next.year}`;
      if (!obj[yr]) {                         // initialize the people array for a year
        obj[yr] = [];
      }
      obj[yr] = obj[yr]                       // set people to equal existing people
        .concat(next.people)                  // plus more people
        .sort((a, b) => {                     // then sort
          if (a.last > b.last) return +1;     // by last name
          if (a.last < b.last) return -1;
          if (a.first > b.first) return +1;   // then first name
          if (a.first < b.first) return -1;
          return 0;                           // a.first + a.last === b.first + b.last
        })
      ;
      return obj;
    }, {})
  ;

  /**
   * Make HTML which has
   * `.spotlight-group>h2.spotlight-year{year}+ul.spotlight-people>.li{person.name}`
   * ^^ this is called Zen Coding. it is a shorthand for making HTML using mostly CSS selector text.
   */
  let html = Object.getOwnPropertyNames(people)           // Get years
    .sort()                                               // Sort years
    .reverse()                                            // Reverse the sort (largest to smallest)
    .map(year => {                                                          // for each year
      let listItems = people[year]
        .map(p => `<li><a href="${p.link}">${p.first} ${p.last}</a></li>`)  // Make a List item for each person
        .join('');                                                          // join as a string

      /**
       * return the spotlight-group for that year.
       */
      return `<div class="spotlight-group"><h2 class="spotlight-year">${year}</h2><ul class="spotlight-people">${listItems}</ul></div>`;
    })
    .join('')                                           // join all years as a string
  ;

  $('.column2b').remove();                              // remove unneeded column
  $('.column2a').replaceWith($(`<div>${html}</div>`));  // replace the other column with new content in a div wrapper. 

})(window.jQuery);  // hand window.jQuery to closure for $ variable.