Troy Tegeder can’t quite remember his prize, but meeting Mayor Earl Clymer back in 1991 was a bonus, of course.

Maybe there was a certificate, too. “I am trying to remember,” he says.

For sure what was really cool was that billboard. That’s what Tegeder remembers, nearly 20 years later.

“As a 12-year-old, I had a billboard. My name was on a billboard,” said Tegeder, now 30 (his birthday was Tuesday) and living near Tucson, Ariz., with his wife Nancee and their daughter Erica

So what was on that billboard? An original piece of Tegeder artwork, the “water wizard,” designed to promote the protection of the city’s groundwater supply.

Showcased in the upper right-hand corner of the billboard is the “Protect our Aquifer” sign that’s prominent throughout downtown Renton today.

Tegeder was a sixth grader at Cascade Elementary School back in 1991. The City of Renton was sponsoring a contest in the Renton School District to design a poster to help students learn about protecting the city’s aquifer.

What did he think at the time? “This is totally up my alley,” he said. So, he drew his wizard, an old man with a flowing beard. He won.

A while later, the wizard showed up at a school assembly. He was a bit surprised.

“I remember thinking. My drawing had a beard,” he says

This wizard had no beard. It was a she.

“I was surprised by that,” he said. “It’s still cool.”

Tegeder went on to attend Nelsen Middle School and Lindbergh High School, graduating in 1998. At Lindbergh, he ran cross-country and track, wrestled and played in the orchestra.

He received a bachelor’s degree from Brigham Young University in 2005 and a master’s degree in 2007.

Now a mechanical engineer, Tegeder designs missile systems for the military at Raytheon Missile Systems.

Tegeder still draws, including portraits.

“If I was a big risk taker, I would have gone into art,” he said.

But his chosen career marries art and mechanical design, he says.

Troy met Nancee on a volunteer service mission to Ukraine. Nancee was on a mission, too. She’s from California. They’re expecting their second child.

They come to Renton frequently to visit friends and family, including his parents Robert and Wendy Tegeder. His mom had the wizard poster framed. It’s hanging in a guest room down in Tucson.

“That’s a blast-from-the-past picture,” Tegeder says.