Reagan Tokes didn’t get to finish her college degree, but she would be thrilled to know so many high school students will further their education in her honor.
Education was important to Ms. Tokes, who was robbed, raped, and murdered in 2017 near Columbus, just three months shy of her graduation from Ohio State University. Her family established the Reagan Delaney Tokes Memorial Foundation in September, 2017, awarding more than $120,000 in academic scholarships.
Numerous Rally for Reagan events are planned for early this year in Columbus and Maumee. Ms. Tokes grew up in nearby Monclova Township. Last year, scholarships were awarded to Anthony Wayne High School students and youths at Maumee United Methodist Church.
“Reagan was a very gifted student and she was very grateful for the opportunity to get an education,” her mother Lisa Tokes said. “When we started talking about what we could do from a foundational perspective, scholarships seemed to be fitting. She was so grateful she had the opportunity to continue her education.”
Ms. Tokes was an honor student and graduated from Anthony Wayne High School, where seven scholarships were awarded last year. Maumee United Methodist Church and OSU each received two.
Students are obligated to meet certain GPA and philanthropic requirements.
“I know the Tokes family wanted to provide scholarship opportunities to Anthony Wayne students who were involved in similar extracurricular programs as Reagan as just one example of the positive work of the foundation,” Superintendent Jim Fritz said. “The AW community continues to remember Reagan and her positive influence on our school district.”
Mrs. Tokes said the foundation is looking to branch out to other northwest Ohio communities, including Perrysburg, to hand out additional scholarships.
Rally for Reagan’s first round is set for Feb. 15 and 16 at the Columbus Renaissance Hotel. The first day will include a fund-raising dinner and silent auction with all proceeds benefiting the foundation. Tickets are $125 per person.
The second day focuses on self-defense taught by Rob Fletcher. Mr. Fletcher created workouts involving seven-minute intervals designed to tone the body, but also give people tools to fight back.
“The mission is to educate and ultimately save lives,” Mr. Fletcher said. “Because a person’s best self-defense is prevention and that comes through education and knowledge. The purpose is to reinforce the fighting skill and the primary target areas of where and how to strike.”
Tickets to the self-defense conference are $25. There will be presentations on what to do if attacked and entering the proper mindset, and information provided by the Grove City Police Department.
The rally shifts to Maumee March 15-18, and starts with a fund-raising silent auction, dinner, and open bar. Tickets are $75 each. Shadow Valley Tennis Club will host a tennis tournament and drills March 16. Tickets are $35.
A self-defense class is scheduled for March 17 at the Martial Arts Center at the Shops at Fallen Timbers. Sempai Shelly Blanco will teach self-awareness and self-defense. Tickets are $15.
“We felt like it’s very important with everything we do at these rally events to have safety and self-defense as something we can expose people to,” Mrs. Tokes said. “It’s very unfortunate, but in our society, there’s evil that lurks among us on a regular basis. We have to have a heightened sense of awareness and also a skill set of what to do should you find yourself in a dangerous situation.”
Mrs. Tokes will speak March 18 at the Premier, 4480 Heatherdowns Blvd., along with retired Toledo police Officer Tonya Rider. Tickets are $35. Ms. Tokes’ sister, Makenzie Tokes, will participate in the Maumee events.
The younger sibling — who graduated from Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla., in 2017, just months before a gunman opened fire at her alma mater, killing 17 students and staff members — is a proponent of women’s self-defense. She participated in a similar event in Maumee last year with about 85 other women and girls.
For more information about Rally for Reagan events, including tickets, donations, and sponsorships, visit rdtmf.com.
First Published January 7, 2019, 2:33 a.m.
