TOLEDO, Ohio — Our team has to say goodbye to a close friend and colleague, Tiffany Tarpley, as she is leaving Toledo and moving back to Cleveland.
We also wanted to show how she left a long-lasting mark on the community and there are a lot of people who needed to say thank you.
When Tiffany joined us here in the mornings in 2020, it wasn't her first time working as a journalist in Toledo. She had already worked at WTOL 11 and at Fox 36 in years past.
Sara Hegarty, executive director of the American Heart Association's southeast Michigan office, remembered Tiffany from her first time in the Glass City.
"And so when I heard through a little grapevine that she was coming back to Toledo, I reached out to her first and I said, 'I want to talk to you' about partnering up with the American Heart Association because I think you would be amazing," Hegarty said.
She added, "We are very, very fortunate at the AHA to have such a strong partnership with WTOL, that we are so thankful for. And when I knew she was coming to WTOL, I was like this is it! This is the golden ticket!"
Tiffany accepted that invitation right away and over the last three years she has been a hard-working, dependable volunteer for the American Heart Association.
She has emceed the Heart of Toledo Heart Ball for three years, where critical funds are raised to make sure the American Heart Association's work can continue.
Tiffany was the traffic cop of sorts, making sure important info came out, that the right people came up to speak, and that people were entertained.
She did it with energy and professionalism and a steady hand.
"I've never sat in an event thinking oh my goodness, what is she going to say? There have been times when I've had that panic moment. But not with Tiffany," Hegarty said.
Tiffany also spent countless hours working with the Boys & Girls Clubs of Toledo by volunteering at the centers and mentoring the kids there.
Billy Mann, director of resource development and communications at the Boys & Girls Clubs of Toledo, said, "An important thing for our youngsters to see is modeling themselves in the role models they see. They need to be able to see themselves in the future leaders that we have out in the community and Tiffany was great with that."
She was also an emcee for the Boys & Girls Clubs' signature event of the year, Barefoot at the Beach.
It's an event that raises a lot of money to make sure the centers are there for the kids of Toledo all summer and during the school year.
"And it's a live event and it's outdoors so there's a level of, you know, roll with the punches so to say. So Tiffany did great with that. She was always organic, always willing to go on the fly, always willing to change at a moment's notice, if we needed to announce something to our guests so she was a great face for the event." Mann said.
In 2021, she emceed their annual Toledo Ladies for the Clubs luncheon at Inverness Club. It was another chance to shine for the Boys & Girls Clubs.
Tiffany also helped ring in the holidays with us as we kicked off the Lights Before Christmas at the Toledo Zoo every November.
And she was a terrific co-host of our Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure live coverage every September. Her energy and passion for finding a cure for breast cancer, was always on display in downtown Toledo.
She also had a lot of fun while supporting the Wood County Fair every August. She would go with co-workers every August to have pork-a-lean sandwich and support the 4-H club by drinking one of their delicious milkshakes.
So as we say goodbye for now, we all wish Tiffany the best.
The Toledo community is a much better place, because of her!
"I would thank her from the bottom of my heart for her time. The days, the minutes, the hours that she has invested in this mission and thank her for the work that I know she's going to continue to do in Cleveland," Hegarty said.
"We joke about after Barefoot, that we've left a lot of footprints in the sand and there's people that leave handprints on the hearts of our members and she is one of those people that has definitely left handprints in our hearts in Toledo," added Billy Mann.
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