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What began as a mother's worst nightmare - the death of her son - has resulted in a positive legacy and opportunity for students in the electrical technologies program at Iowa Central Community College in Fort Dodge.
Landon “Deno” Smith, a Fort Dodge native and Iowa Central student in the electrical technologies program, died at age 23 in 2020. He died following a single-vehicle motorcycle accident near the intersection of Hawkeye Avenue and Second Street Northwest.
Even though Landon's mother, Donna Smith, was overwhelmed with grief in the aftermath of her son's death, she decided to establish a new annual scholarship in his name for Iowa Central electrical technologies students, the Landon Smith Memorial Scholarship.
Smith said that Landon (nicknamed Deno), was the oldest of her four sons. Prior to attending Iowa Central, he graduated from Fort Dodge Senior High School, and worked for Community Tap and Pizza, Amigos Bar and Grill, and KG Roofing.
At the time of his death, he was working toward his career goals by studying to be an electrician at Iowa Central while employed by Zoske Electric in Iowa Falls.
Smith said her son died at the height of the COVID-19 crisis and a related medical examiner shortage. This led to a two-week delay for his funeral, resulting in her idea for a new college scholarship taking shape, she said.
"I needed something to keep my mind busy so I hosted a bake sale on Facebook, with plans for the proceeds going to a one-time donation to Iowa Central," she said. "I put the donation in Landon’s name because he was enjoying what he was doing there so much."
The fundraiser proved to be much more successful than anticipated, with the bake sale proceeds surpassing Smith's original goals.
"Landon was loved by so many people," she said, which led to hundreds of Fort Dodge residents expressing their "overwhelming generosity" in contributions.
"When I went to make the donation at Iowa Central, I was told that enough money had been raised to create and fund a scholarship for two years," she said.
She recalls that the first fundraiser spiraled into an incredible town-wide effort, drawing over 250 orders for homemade banana and pumpkin bread.
"That first unexpected wave of support allowed me to turn a single donation into an ongoing scholarship that helps local college students build their futures," she said.
After the success of the first fundraiser, she decided to host new fundraisers to keep the scholarship going.
"Knowing that I couldn’t settle for only two years of the scholarship, I decided to host new fundraisers to ensure the scholarship would be available each year," she said.
This year's scholarship fundraiser is scheduled for 3 p.m. to 11 p.m. Oct. 17 at Rides Bar & Grill, 725 S. 31st St.
The fundraiser supports a $1,500 annual Landon Smith Memorial Scholarship, which is awarded to one student per year enrolled in the Iowa Central electrical technologies program.
Requirements for the scholarship include a GPA of 2.5 or higher, and full or part-time enrollment. A personal essay must be included with the application explaining how the scholarship will help the student.
The upcoming fundraiser will feature live music from Tank Anthony; a free-will donation dinner provided by Rides Bar & Grill; a silent auction, raffle drawings, and door prizes; and a bake sale.
Smith says she does most of the planning for the fundraiser and also selects the winning applicant each year for the scholarship.
"After Iowa Central receives all of the applications, I pick them up like they’re a golden ticket," she said. "They must include an essay with their application, which is basically what I use to decide. I look for similarities with Landon, and how much of their life story they were willing to share. It’s such a personal project for me; I like it when they open up about themselves."
Smith said she has been able to meet the two most recent scholarship recipients, Kelan Koval and Jace Hannes, after they had each received their awards.
Koval is a 19-year-old electrical technology student from Manson, who received the scholarship in the 2025-2026 academic year. Accompanied by his mother, he met Smith at her home in Fort Dodge. He said she was moved by his essay and that she shed a few tears when they met.
"I actually wrote about the struggles of growing up with a single mom, a black child in America, you know?'' Koval said
Koval expressed his gratitude to Smith for the scholarship, and the enduring legacy of its namesake.
"This is a great way to keep Landon’s memory alive," he said. "Having this scholarship is super beneficial for Landon's mother, for the community, and for Landon himself. At the end of the day, I know that this scholarship is based on a lot of love."
Hannes is the most recent recipient of the scholarship, receiving it for the 2026-2027 academic year. He's a 22-year-old from Fairfield, majoring in electrical technologies.
Like Koval, Hannes credits his essay for helping to win the scholarship. He sees himself as similar to Landon in many ways.
"When I read about the scholarship and Landon's life, I could see that he had a charismatic energy that lit up any room he was in," he said. "That’s something I’ve always wanted to emulate and something I want to be personally; because if you aren’t bringing energy into the room, you’re probably sucking it out. And I want to be someone who lifts others up."
The scholarship is meaningful to Hannes for many reasons, including the hard work that Landon exemplified in his short life.
"I think in terms of what it means to receive this scholarship; it shows that hard work does pay off," he said. "The ability to be true to who you are and what you want to be, is important. "
Unlike Koval, Hannes' meeting with Smith was unplanned and accidental. He had heard about Smith and her scholarship campaign from his electrical program instructor, Thad Cooper. He happened to see a woman with posters looking for Cooper one afternoon, and realized that she was probably Smith.
"I see this woman with a bunch of posters, walking through the hallways and she looked like she didn’t know exactly where she was going," he said. "I saw her put posters under Thad's door, and I asked if she was Landon Smith’s mother. I introduced myself, shook her hand, and said, 'My name is Jace Hannes, and I’m the recipient of your scholarship, and I’d like to say thank you so much for this opportunity.'"
Smith says that she really enjoyed meeting both Koval and Hannes. In various ways, she said that both young men remind her of her son.
"I was overwhelmed with emotion," she said. "These encounters have encouraged me to find a way to meet the student scholarship recipients in the future."
Smith notes that there has been a three-year hiatus since the last scholarship fundraiser.
"Although there hasn’t been a recent fundraising event, the scholarship was still awarded the last three years," she said. "It’s time to build the fund up again, so I can continue to help students by alleviating a little bit of their financial burdens so they can focus more on studies."