Watertown-Mayer Education Foundation

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Watertown-Mayer Education Foundation

In 2017, the Watertown Mayer Education Foundation created a non-profit 501(c)3 organization. Click on this link to download a D&D Dinner Ticket

We enhance educational opportunities, promote academic excellence, and award student scholarships and teacher grants in our schools through community involvement

06/12/2026

Our final 2026 Legacy Family is the Ryan/Motzko family! Noah Ryan graduated this spring and was active in Royal football and baseball until his love for farming took over. He recently entered the work force with his Dad, Adam Ryan, as a glassworker.
Noah's mother is Jessica Motzko, who graduated from Watertown-Mayer in 2000. She was active in softball, volleyball, and band. She went on to graduate from St. Cloud State University in 2004.
Jessica's dad, Joe Motzko, graduated from Watertown-Mayer class of 1979. He was active in football and wrestling. He went on to diesel mechanic school at Willmar Tech and has owned Motzko Repair in Watertown since 1985.
Noah hopes to continue his love for farming whenever he has the chance! We wish him the best and thank his family for sharing their story. Go Royals!!

06/09/2026

This week's Legacy Family starts with Alaina Burns!
Four generations ago, her great-great-great-great grandfather Michael Burns was a pioneer settler of Hollywood Township. Born in Ireland in 1826, he came to this country in 1852, accompanied by his wife, Bridget Farrell. They bought land in Hollywood Township, clearing it with an axe and a hoe. One of their 6 children was Edward Burns (b. 1855)- Alaina's 3x great grandfather. He was an insurance salesman and farmer. With his wife, Mary McCormick, they had 8 children, with Edward Jr. born around 1880. Another Edward Burns arrived on the scene in 1900 (Alaina's great-grandfather). With his wife Rose, they had seven children with Patrick (b. 1945) as the youngest. Patrick was Alaina's grandfather. With all that history, several generations of the Burns family attended and graduated from Watertown schools.
Alaina's father Pat graduated in 1989. He and his wife Julie have three other children, all WM grads. Madissen (Edward Iten) - class of 2017; Devyn - class of 2020, and Libby - class of 2023.
Alaina was involved in volleyball, National Honor Society, unified sports, letters of love, and track and field. She will be attending the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire where she will be studying Speech, Language, and Hearing Sciences, and playing volleyball. We wish her the best and thank her family for sharing their story! Go Royals!!

06/05/2026

Next up in our Legacy Family Spotlight is the 2026 graduate Ella Dreier! Although Ella’s mom, Ellen Schmig Dreier, didn't graduate from W-M, Ella comes from a LONG line of W-M graduates dating back to 1914!! Her grandmother, Phyllis Hokenson Schmig graduated in 1968. Phyllis' brothers were Richard (1966), Keith (1969) and Dale (1970) Hokenson. Ella’s great grandparents were Florence and Jack Hokenson. Florence started teaching in Watertown in 1965, retiring in 1983. Jack drove bus #8 for WM schools for many years!. Jack's parents were Authur and Myrtle (Van Krevelen) Hokenson. They both attended Watertown and were in the Class of 1914!

Ella has two older brothers who graduated from WM - Derek (2021) and Lucas (2024). Jaxen will graduate in 2031. Ella lettered in Theater, Choir and was a wrestling manager for 4 years. She plans to attend Drake University this fall to study mortuary science. We wish her the best and thank her family for sharing their story. Go Royals!!

06/04/2026

WMEF ALUMNI REUNION — Once a Royal, Always a Royal!

Come and reconnect with fellow Royals at the Watertown-Mayer Education Foundation Alumni Reunion! Whether you graduated decades ago or just a few years back, this is YOUR night to reminisce, reconnect, and give back!

There will be Raffle Drawings every hour, Split the Pot and then take a walk down memory lane with yearbooks on display! Also a special WM coaster for every guest who arrives!

All are welcome — bring friends, family, and fellow Royals! Let’s fill Back Channel and show what this community is made of.

This is part of Back Channel Community Tuesdays — where a portion of all proceeds that night benefits the WMEF Scholarship Fund!

Tuesday, July 21

5:00 – 8:00 PM

Back Channel Brewing Co.
4787 Shoreline Drive�Spring Park, MN, 55384

RSVP by clicking the link in our bio

06/01/2026

The Guetzkow/Yantes Family is our next Legacy Family!
Griffin Guetzkow is a 2026 WM Graduate. His father, Stacy Guetzkow graduated in 1986. Stacy works at Minnesota Roadway and is also the Head Coach of the Trap Team. His father was Dale Guetzkow. Dale graduated in 1962 and owned and operated Dale’s 66 for over 20 years in Watertown. Dale also served in the US Army during the Vietnam War, from 1965 to 1967. Griffin's grandmother is Kathy Yantes Guetzkow. She graduated in 1963, marrying Dale in 1965. Elementary students will remember Kathy working in the cafeteria for many years. You might even see Kathy at the high school as she still enjoys going to many of the sporting events and cheering on the Royals.

During high school, Griffin participated in soccer, swimming, trap shooting, choir and was a Boys State representative when he was a junior. He plans to study engineering at Montana State University in Bozeman, MT in the fall. We wish him the best and thank his family for sharing their story! Go Royals!!

05/29/2026

Another Legacy Family with a lot of Watertown history!
Jackson Boll's family has a long history of living in the Watertown/St. Boni area. His great-great grandfather - George (Pup) Boll started the People's State Bank in St. Boni in 1916. That building still stands and is now the St. Boni Library. His great grandfather, William Boll Sr. married Irene Thiesing and they had 8 children. Their family farmed north of St. Boni where there were several "Boll Farms". In fact, there was a one room schoolhouse on the corner of 92 & 15 that was called the Boll Schoolhouse mainly to educate all of the Boll children! Irene lived to be 103 having just passed away in 2019.

Jackson's grandfather is John Boll - class of 1969. He married Bonnie Kassulker - class of 1968. They still own and work a farm north of St. Boni. Jackson dad's, Jeff, grew up on the family farm and graduated from WM in 1997. He married Angela Neumann - also class of 1997.

Jackson plans on continuing that strong work ethic by working in the trades after high school. We wish him the best and thank his family for sharing their story. Go Royals!

05/26/2026

Our next Legacy Family is the Hartshorn/Buehl/Dudek Family! Ben's mom is Angie Buehl Hartshorn - Class of 1997. His mom studied Animal Science at UW-River Falls and is a manager at Watertown Veterinary Clinic. His grandmother, Jean Dudek Buehl (class of 1975) is a talented seamstress and has raised miniature horses on their farm outside of Watertown. Although his grandfather, George Buehl, didn't graduate from Watertown, he is a strong supporter/coach of the Watertown-Mayer Robotics Team where Ben received a varsity letter winner.

Ben was very involved in many activities during high school. He lettered in Track, Band and Academics. During track, he got a PR this year clearing 11'6" in Pole Vault. In band he played two instruments, the trombone and bassoon. He played in jazz band, symphonic band and the pit orchestra. In robotics, he was the lead programmer, technician and drive coach. He also was in NHS and is an Eagle Scout. He was also awarded the Math Award at the Senior Awards night. And to top it all off, he was one of the Valedictorians celebrated last Friday at graduation! It's so great that Watertown-Mayer schools provide these type of opportunities to our students.

Ben will be attending Dunwoody College for Cybersecurity this fall. We wish him the best and thank his family for sharing their story. Go Royals!

05/22/2026

On WM graduation day, we celebrate our next Legacy Family!

Emily Hecksel is graduating tonight with a long line of Hecksel's cheering her on.
There is a rich history of the Hecksel family in this area! The Hecksel Century Farm covers 200 acres of land just east of Winsted. Emily's great-great grandparents, Henry and Minnie Hecksel, built the original house on the property for $7,000, and had dairy cows and horses.
Emily's great grandfather was Wallace Hecksel. He went to school in Watertown through the 8th grade. In the 1920's, it was pretty normal for children to leave school to work on the family farm as needed. Wallace continued to work the farm with his brother and father. He married Louella Luedke in 1932 and they had 2 sons & 4 daughters.
One son is Harlan Hecksel - Emily's grandfather. Harlan graduated from WM in 1967. He married Pauline Parish Hecksel who also graduated from WM in 1968. They were high school sweethearts and they still farm and own and run H H Fabrication by Winsted.

Their son, Troy Hecksel (Emily's dad) graduated in 1988 and then went to the U of M - Waseca after high school. He married Kristin (Van Keulen) Hecksel. They have 4 children. Bailey, Dylan, Kaitlyn and of course, Emily. All their children are also WM grads.

Emily will be going to the U of M - Twin Cities with a Biology focus. In high school she was involved in many activities including National Honor Society and Band. We wish her the best and thank her family for sharing her story! Go Royals!

If you are a Legacy Family, please DM us. We would love to share your story too!

05/18/2026

With graduation this Friday, we are excited to start this year's Legacy Family series! We will be sharing stories of the 2026 WM seniors that have families who have a connection to Watertown Mayer schools with not only their parents but also their grandparents.

First up is Alexander Baumann. His mom, Lynn Peterman, graduated in 2000 and went right into working. She has been a Team Leader at Target for over 25 years. Ben's grandparents, Dave Peterman ('58) and Sharon Stull ('64), got married in 1970 and raised their 4 kids in the Watertown-Mayer school district. Sharon passed away in the spring of 1997. Dave continued to live on the family farm until he passed away in 2018. Their 4 grandchildren are now in the Watertown schools!

Alex was in FFA and he lettered in Super Mileage, Golf and Trapshooting. He will going to WyoTech in Laramie, Wyoming to get certified as a diesel mechanic and in chassis fabrication. We wish Alex the best and thank his family for sharing their story!l
Go Royals!

If you are a Legacy Family, please DM us. We would love to share your story too!

Address

1001 Highway 25 NW
Watertown, MN
55388

Website

https://www.wm.k12.mn.us/community/watertown-mayer-education-foundation/welcome

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