Tony graduated from Oregon State University in 2007 with a degree in Electrical Engineering. Despite having three brothers who graduated from the University of Oregon, Tony remained a proud alumnus of Oregon State. Although Oregon has had the upper hand in terms of football in recent years, Tony made sure his brothers were reminded that his Beavers won the 2002 Civil War by a score of 45-24 (yes, even reminding us today through family photos).
Tony loved to travel to support his Beavers and went on a number of different trips to support both the baseball and football programs. Since graduating in 2007, Tony's travels to support Oregon State took him to the Bay Area, Las Vegas, Dallas, El Paso, Omaha and even Wisconsin.
As a result of Tony's passion for Oregon State, TP Forever established the TP Forever Scholarship Fund at Oregon State University. We originally pledged a minimum of $25,000 to Oregon State University over a period of 5 years, which would then allow the scholarship to be given on an annual basis in perpetuity. However, due to the tremendous support of TP Forever and several generous private donors, we raised $27,000 for the scholarship fund in just over one year. As a result, the first ever TP Forever Scholarship was awarded to Bryan Layton for the 2013-2014 academic year. Bryan gave a short speech at TP Forever II, which can be viewed below:
TP Forever Scholarship Recipients
Alex Molisani
2018 scholarship recipient (current)
Thomas Prihoda
2017, 2018 scholarship recipient (current)
Francesco Verna-Ketel
2016, 2017 scholarship recipient (graduated)
Two individual scholarships will be awarded annually in perpetuity
Scholarships to be awarded to full-time students studying Electrical Engineering
Scholarships to be awarded to students with a demonstrated financial need and a minimum GPA of 3.0
Students will continue to receive the scholarships each year (for up to 5 years), given they continue to meet the qualification criteria established (full time student studying Electrical Engineering, demonstrated financial need, minimum GPA of 3.0)
Preference will be given to students who have participated in and/or have an interest in athletics
Oregon Humane Society
Tony had an incredible heart and a prime example of this was his love for animals, particularly dogs. Shortly after college, Tony became a regular volunteer at the Oregon Humane Society. Through his volunteer work, Tony would often provide foster care for dogs that needed a home, but for one reason or another, were not quite ready to be adopted. One such dog that was lucky enough to have Tony care for him was a 4-month old, abused pit bull named Midnight. What was supposed to be just a few weeks of foster care eventually turned into a 15-month journey that transformed a lonely, abused puppy into a loving, playful, well-trained pet. Despite the foster care timeline continually being extended month by month and the continued sacrifices Tony had to make in order to take care of Midnight, he never complained even once. In fact, he was happy to rearrange his schedule and happy to provide the attention, love and support that this poor animal needed so much.
In 2011, Tony was recognized for his incredible volunteer work with Midnight by being awarded the prestigious Diamond Collar Hero Award from the Oregon Humane Society:
Tony later adopted a puppy of his own named Clyde. He loved his dog Clyde so much and had such a great sense of humor that he wrote his dog a postcard from Hawaii shortly before he passed away.
In true Tony fashion, the postcard was addressed directly to "Clyde Platt".
Tony and Clyde, December 2010.
Tony Platt Foster Care Award
Given Tony's commitment to animals and his incredible volunteer work with Midnight, OHS has established the Tony Platt Foster Care Award. Each year, this award will recognize an OHS volunteer foster parent who embodies the dedication and commitment that Tony demonstrated. The inaugural award winner was presented to Danni McLaughlin in March 2016.
Tony's brother Chris Platt with the inaugural winner of the Tony Platt Foster Care Award, Danni McLaughlin and Executive Director of the Oregon Humane Society, Sharon Harmon.
Tony's mom Kathy Schilling with the 2017 Tony Platt Foster Care Award recipient, Mary Doak and Sharon Harmon.
OHS Memorial Stone
The Oregon Humane Society has honored Tony by placing a memorial stone along their volunteer dog walking path. This path is used extensively each day by volunteers, who will hopefully find some inspiration each time they walk by the stone. Tony will forever be a part of our lives, but now he will also forever be a part of the Oregon Humane Society.
Memorial stone along volunteer dog walking path at OHS.
