Student clubs will compete for extra funding at an event hosted by friend of the college Don Tocco on April 23.

The clubs will present to Tocco, founder of D.L. Tocco & Associates, a national marketing and business development firm, Athletic Director John Tharp, and Director of Athletic Development Jeff Lantis at 7 p.m. in Plaster Auditorium, with coffee and hors d’oeuvres beginning at 6:30 p.m. All students are invited to attend. 

“The purpose of the annual Tocco Leadership Challenge is to support and encourage creative and successful leadership efforts on campus,” Tocco said in an email. “Fostering early leadership success at the college level truly prepares students for ‘real world’ scenarios. Each year, we ask the club presidents to step up to the podium and articulate their organization’s purpose, challenges, and various ways that they are helping fellow students or the community at large.”

The presentations will focus on the clubs’ mission, goals for growth, impact on the college community, and intended use of the potential funding. 

“It is important for Hillsdale students to participate at a leadership level to help prepare them for the many and consequential future opportunities that lie ahead once they graduate,” Tocco said. “Never have we needed capable and ethical leadership in government, industry, economics, mass communications, and the sciences more than today.”