Annual Golf Tournament to Raise Money in Honor of Fallen HD Student

The 2002 Hampton-Dumont High School graduates are once again coordinating a golf tournament to raise money in honor of their fallen classmate, Jeremy Hagensick, who passed away in eighth grade.

This year, the event — which will take place on July 20 — will be a three-person, best-shot, 18-hole tournament at the Hampton Country Club. It kicks off at noon. The guest of honor will be Gary Dolphin, who has served as the broadcast announcer for the University of Iowa Hawkeyes football and men's basketball teams for Learfield/IMG College and the Iowa Hawkeye Sports Network since 1996. There will be a silent auction with some signed items available for bids, including signed items from ISU’s Rocco Becht and Jaylin Noel. TJ Hockenson has also donated a signed Vikings helmet for the silent auction. 

Michael Kuehner, a Hampton-Dumont graduate who now works as a lawyer in Des Moines, is helping coordinate the event. Kuehner explained that he and fellow classmates first put their heads together several years ago to figure out a way to start a scholarship in Hagensick’s honor, and their efforts grew from there. 

“This year, we’re hoping to raise money for Jeremey’s scholarship, and in addition to that, help fund a new software program for the school district and there are some other projects within the school in need of assistance,” he said. “Every dollar we raise either goes to graduates via scholarship or directly back to the school. All the expenses for the tournament are donated by alumni, so that every dollar that comes in will go right back to the school and the students.”

Kuehner said that being able to do this is his way of paying back those who helped him and his classmates when they were attending school. 

“This helps us show appreciation for a town that we grew up in and have a lot of great memories in,” he said. “Maybe it’ll show others that come after us that it’s good to give back. When you do things at the local level, you get a lot more bang for your buck. Because you get to help your neighbor or your former classmate.” 

When asked to describe Hagensick, Kuehner was quick to describe how great he was. 

“He always had a smile on his face and he had a laugh I can still hear to this day,” he said. “He was a really good friend. A good teammate. He loved being on the farm. He loved playing baseball. Back then, that’s what we did for fun. He was a fun-loving kid.”

In the fall of 1997, Hagensick was killed in an ATV accident. He was only 14 years old at the time of his death. 

“We lost him just like that,” said Kuehner. “So we do this to keep his memory alive.” 

To learn about how to donate, contact Michael Kuehner at michaelckuehner@gmail.com.