Feb. 25--St. Patrick's Day is around the corner and Tori Reyes is ready. She has already ordered a green gown and received a glittery crown and white sash.
The 17-year-old with Down syndrome has special reason to be excited about the wearing of the green this year. She was crowned on Wednesday at Countryside City Hall as the queen of community's first St. Patrick's Day Family Parade, which will be held at 1 p.m. on March 5.
As the event approaches, Tori, who lives in LaGrange Highlands, also has been practicing a wave worthy of royalty and, during a thank you speech at her crowning, gave a special shout-out to her friend, Kate Dillon, 14, of La Grange, who nominated her for the honor.
Dillon and Reyes both attend Lyons Township High School where they met through their participation in Best Buddies, a program that pairs students with intellectual or developmental disabilities with other students for social interaction, friendship and mentoring.
When Tim Ryan, chairperson of the parade, started thinking about how to select a queen for the inaugural parade, the Best Buddies program came to mind because his children had participated in it. Ryan wanted to highlight the good the program does and asked participants to write letters nominating a friend with special needs to be queen. The parade committee chose Tori from seven applications.
In her letter, Dillon, a freshman, described how nervous she was about first trying to befriend Reyes because she is older and a junior.
"It almost felt like I was going on a blind date," she recounted.
To her relief, Reyes' easy and fun personality immediately set her at ease.
"She is more than I ever could have asked for in a friend," Dillon wrote. "She is honestly one of the funniest, sweetest, and most caring people I have ever met."
After connecting with Reyes and her family, Ryan said he knew he'd found the ideal parade queen.
"I think we made the perfect choice," he said. "Tori and her whole family are fun, energetic and involved."
"Her having some Irish blood didn't hurt," joked Reyes' mother, Rebecca Reyes. "He was very excited when he learned that."
Reyes participates in a variety of activities including cheerleading, swimming, Special Olympics Basketball and bowling.
Ryan was also impressed when he attended a Special Olympics basketball game and saw that a hundred or so students, including Reyes' sister Gillian Reyes,15, who plays volleyball at LT, had turned out in matching T-shirts to cheer her on.
"That's because Tori is always supporting her sister at her volleyball games," he said.
The theme of highlighting good via the parade extends beyond the Best Buddies program to raising money for scholarships.
The parade grand marshals will be John and Brenda O'Laughlin of Indian Head Park, who started the Kelli Joy O'Laughlin Memorial Foundation in honor of their daughter, Kelli O'Laughlin, who was murdered during a burglary at their home in 2011.
The foundation awarded its first scholarships in 2012, and has distributed $195,000 to date in scholarships. It plans to provide an additional $100,000 this year. When that money is distributed, it will have provided funds to 47 college students, John O'Laughlin said.
He thinks his daughter would be happy that students are able to achieve their dreams through the foundation.
"Kelli had tons of friends," he said. "She was so connected to her friends. I think she's happy we're trying to help other kids and her friends."
The scholarships, he noted, are open to anyone in Illinois. He also has invited some of the scholarship recipients to be at the parade.
For information, on the Kelli Joy Memorial Foundation, visit to kellijoyolaughlinmemorialfund.com/
amannion@tribpub.com
Parade information
What: Countryside St. Patrick's Day parade
When: Kicks off at 1 p.m. March 5
Where: Starts at Countryside Park on 61st Street, Travels north on Kensington Avenue, west on 59th Street, north on Longview Drive, north on Brainard Avenue, west on Plainfield Road, and north on Park Avenue (55th Place). It will end at 55th Place and Edgewood Avenue.
