WACF May 2024 Newsletter

211 East Kemp Avenue P.O. Box 116 Watertown, SD 57201 Office: 605-882-3731

May 2024 Newsletter

WACF YOUTH COUNCIL WELCOMES NEW MEMBERS Youth Council

The Foundation’s Youth Council met in late April to elect three rising Juniors to the council.

Siri Bach, Leila Byer, and Whitney Martinsen were selected to join the six-member council.

Returning Youth Council members for the 2024-2025 school year will be Josie Althoff, Isabella Horning, and Halle Olson.

Youth Council members serve a twoyear term and learn about leadership, philanthropy, and our community needs.

Each spring the Youth Council awards at least $10,000 in grants to youth-serving area nonprofits.

Congratulations to our graduating Youth Council Seniors Hannah Herzog, Carter Schmidt, and Lucy Walker. Hannah will study accounting at Baylor University. Carter and Lucy plan to major in education at Northern State University and Augustana University, respectively.

Front (L to R): Siri Bach, Leila Byer, Whitney Martinsen, and Josie Althoff. Back (L to R): Isabella Horning, Hannah Herzog, Carter Schmidt, Halle Olson, and Lucy Walker.

Thank you for serving Watertown’s Youth

WACF Executive Director Cammie Mengwasser shared a bitter-sweet final meeting with outgoing Youth Council members Carter Schmidt, Hannah Herzog, and Lucy Walker. During their time on the Youth Council, the three awarded over $24,000 in grants to youth-serving organizations in the Watertown area.

GENERATIONS OF GENEROSITY!

A Herzog Family Tradition

Cory, Hannah, and Cliff Herzog share a moment at Hannah’s recent high school graduation reception. Hannah served on the Foundation’s Youth Council from 2022 to 2024. Her grandfather Cliff was a Foundation board member from 2002 to 2006, and her father Cory is a trusted Financial Advisor to the Foundation. The Herzogs have made it a family tradition to give back to the Watertown community.

This Father’s Day consider a gift to the WACF in honor of or in memory of your amazing dad.

The Watertown Area Community Foundation invests in the vitality of the greater Watertown area. watertowncommunityfoundation.org

H20-50 COMMUNITY VISIONING UNDERWAY

The Foundation has awarded a grant to support Watertown’s community visioning process, H2O-50. Funds will support the development of a comprehensive strategic plan that will define the vision for Watertown’s next 25 years.

As a first step in the development of this plan, all community members are encouraged to complete the Watertown H2O-50 survey to provide personal perspectives and feedback. All surveys are anonymous. Those who complete the survey and provide an email address have a chance at winning a $500 gift card.

“As we saw with H2O-20, big things can and do happen when we as a community lock on a vision and set a course to get there,” shared H2O-50 co-leader and WACF Board Chair Liam Culhane. We need everyone vested in this process. Now is the time to share what is important to you, your family, and your business; where do you want to drive Watertown over the next 25 years?”

Thousands of community members participated in 2012 during Watertown’s inaugural visioning effort, H2O-20 which identified the need for more public gathering spaces, as an example. This fueled momentum for projects including the Prairie Lakes Wellness Center and Ice Arena, the restoration of the Goss Opera House, and the development of Foundation Plaza.

“Now is the time. We need to challenge ourselves to think big,” said Culhane. “We live in an extraordinary community because the people who came before us cared enough to plan for the future. We owe it to the next generation of Watertown to do the same.”

WACF GRANT SUPPORTS PROPANEPOWERED BUSES FOR COMMUNITY TRANSIT With ridership up nearly 20% in the Watertown area, the Watertown Area Community Foundation recently awarded a $20,000 grant to Community Transit of Watertown/Sisseton for the acquisition of two propanepowered buses.

Learn more about Community Transit and the new propane-powered buses online at https://shorturl.at/dq2ki

MAY MOMENTS