About
In April 2021, Pellston alumnus Blake Wagenschutz (class of 2011) passed away in a motorcycle accident. His parents, Mark and Kim Wagenschutz, longtime coaches and teachers at Pellston, received memorial funds in Blake’s honor. Knowing they wanted to create a legacy in honor of their son, they decided those funds would be used for scholarships to students in building and trades at Pellston. Blake had been such a student and was working in the trades at the time of the accident. In determining how to best hold, invest, and distribute those funds, an even bigger legacy was born, the Pellston Education Foundation.
Seeing a greater need at hand, a small group of people with a passion for Pellston and for education came together with Mark and Kim to establish this new foundation, which serves to enrich the education needs of all Pellston students.
Blake Wagenschutz, class of 2011
Growing
By the end of December 2021, this new foundation already raised more than $90,000 with its Founder’s Corner [see contributors]. The success of the campaign gave the foundation the opportunity to distribute $9,000 in scholarships to Pellston High Grads the following spring.
Beyond the Blake Anthony Wagenschutz Trade Scholarship, the foundation has been called upon to hold several other scholarship funds that were in need of a home. Included is another memorial scholarship fund in the memory of a Pellston alum, Crystal Jutson. The PEF also manages investments for the Pellston Alumni Scholarship Fund, and for the John D. McLarty Family Scholarship Fund. Other scholarship held by the foundation include:
The Richard & Lottie Hayes Scholarship
The Burt Matteson Memorial Sports Scholarship
The Andrew and Barbara Mroz Scholarship
The Edward and Mary Cadwell Scholarship
Lucille M. Johnson Scholarship
Board of Trustees
Carlin Smith, President
Mark Wagenschutz, Vice-President
Sarah (Cleary) George, Secretary
Gennie Bricker, Treasurer
Serenity Dankert, Trustee
Kim Jutson, Trustee
Tom Litzner, Trustee
Pat Mallory, Trustee
Stephen Seelye, Superintendent Pellston Public Schools
The mission of the Pellston Education Foundation is to enrich learning opportunities for students of Pellston Public Schools through scholarships and grants.
