At 7 p.m. on Tuesday, Don Tocco will speak in Markel Auditorium on important prose poetry he has come across in his life in a presentation called “Prose, Poetry, and Psalms to Live By.” Like Tocco’s speech last year, Greek houses, sports teams, and campus groups will have the opportunity to earn money based on the percentage of group attendance at the event.
Tocco said he hopes that students can take the poems he recites, which he described as modern classics, and live by the ideas within the poems.
“Hopefully at the end, everyone who comes to this event will find one of these 12 or 13 or 14 things, to find one and say, ‘I like that,’” Tocco said. “These are tools and ideas that will help you deal with the vicissitudes of life.”
He said he believes the importance of exploring different sources of wisdom can be seen in the habits of successful people.
“The farther up the ladder you go, the more you find that people in high leadership capacity are those that have investigated and understand the dynamics of the many, many avenues for achievement,” he said.
Tocco said he has been memorizing poems that impact him since he was an early teenager.
“I just memorize. These are what I live by,” Tocco said. “Anytime in life I come by something that is moving to me, that I think has worth and enduring value, I memorize it.”
Tocco emphasizes the importance of giving back, and said people should give back as soon as they are able. He is involved in a number of youth leadership organizations, and has been involved with Hillsdale for the past 13 years.
In addition to his involvement in philanthropy or motivational speaking, Tocco is the owner of a private national marketing company that helps big industrial companies build factories in the United States, Canada, and Mexico. He also enjoys creating art and writing poetry in his free time.
Although he has many obligations, Tocco always makes time for the students at Hillsdale.
“My busy schedule is so I can make money so I can donate it to this place,” Tocco said.
Tocco first heard about Hillsdale in 2002 when he read Imprimis. After he finished reading, he called the college and asked to speak with the president, who at the time he didn’t know was Larry Arnn.
“I knew I’d never get a call back if I didn’t offer to donate money,” Tocco said.
Tocco soon got a call from Arnn. Tocco knew he wanted to support Hillsdale, but the way he chose to give back was different than all of Hillsdale’s other donors. He began the “Tocco Challenge.”
For 10 years, Tocco challenged the members of Greek houses and student athletes to athletic competitions in basketball, football, baseball, and tennis. Tocco had a winning record in the Tocco Challenge, winning seven out of 10 competitions.
After the 10th Tocco Challenge, Tocco and the school administration decided to retire the event and last year, Tocco delivered a speech instead.
“I did 10 challenges, and you might have noticed I’m not getting younger,” Tocco said.
Last semester, Tocco approached the college to speak again. Tocco is passionate about spreading his knowledge with students, so in order to get more students at events, he has again offered cash incentives.
“He’s the only donor that’s currently allowing student groups to earn money in this way,” Associate Dean of Women Rebekah Dell said.
Tocco prefers to give money in a way that will give the organizations useful information instead of just giving them a check.
“Everybody wins. Nobody is left out of this deal,” Tocco said. “It’s not going to fund every organization, but it will help.”
When Tocco gave his speech last winter, all of the seats in Phillips Auditorium were filled, and students had to sit in the aisles. This year, since Phillips is under construction, the event will be held in the larger Markel Auditorium.
One group that benefited from Tocco’s speech last year, and plans to attend this year, is Chi Omega Sorority.
“Chi Omega is really thankful for his gift. It was really awesome,” President of Chi Omega Sorority Sophia Coyne-Kosnak said. “Don Tocco is a really generous person.”
Delta Tau Delta fraternity members said they also appreciated last year’s speech and benefited from Tocco’s donation to the fraternity.
“I thought it was great. I thought he gave an inspiring speech,” President of DTD Richard Caster said. “We are incredibly grateful because we use the money for leadership training inside of Delt.”
In addition to using their money to pay for leadership training, DTD used the money from Tocco to set up the “Tocco Fund,” which has helped finance things like the Northern Division Conference of DTD as well as the fraternity’s yearly retreat.
For Tocco, donating to Hillsdale and supporting its students as well as its message is crucial. He believes Hillsdale is the most important college in the nation.
“This is how we will survive, by being excellent,” Tocco said.
