2025 Annual Meeting &
Read the Family Difference Maker Award Reception

2025 Annual Meeting & Read Family Difference Maker Award Reception
Honoring Tony (posthumously) and Toby Gorant


Thursday, August 21, 2025, 4:30-7:30pm
1840 Manor House

Join us for this special gathering for an evening of community, recognition, and reflection as we host our 2025 Annual Meeting and honor this year’s Read Family Difference Maker Award recipients, Toby & Tony Gorant. This award is part of the Leadership Akron Life Trustee Awards Trinity. Join fellow graduates from across the decades to reconnect, celebrate, and reengage with the mission that unites us all.

4:30 – 5:30 PM | VIP Reception

  • Step into the exclusive Bourbon Room for an elevated networking experience like no other. Mingle with Leadership Akron board members, community champions, and this year’s Read Family Difference Maker Award honorees in an intimate setting that blends historic charm with modern elegance.

  • Enjoy signature cocktails, curated hors d’oeuvres, and photo opportunities—all within the distinctive ambiance of 1840 Manor House.

  • One complimentary drink ticket included; additional beverages available for purchase.

5:30 – 7:30 PM Annual Meeting & Awards Presentation

  • Experience an inspiring evening that reflects the heart of Leadership Akron’s mission and momentum. This year’s Annual Meeting will feature:

    • Organizational Updates & Strategic Priorities: Hear Leadership Akron's key updates and future-focused priorities to expand our reach, deepen our impact, and invest in the next generation of civic leaders.

    • Welcome New Class Members: Celebrate the future of community leadership as we formally introduce the members of Signature Class 42, Diversity on Board Class 10, and NEXT Class 14—three dynamic cohorts preparing to shape Akron’s future.

    • Presentation of the 2025 Read Family Difference Maker Award: Recognizing this year’s honorees – Toby & Tony Gorant, whose humble, consistent service has left a lasting mark on Greater Akron.

  • Enjoy light appetizers and one complimentary drink ticket as part of the program. Additional beverages will be available for purchase.

This is your invitation to witness leadership in action, celebrate community builders, and help shape what’s next for a thriving GREATer Akron—together.

**Details for individual ticket sales will be announced at a later date.

1840 Manor House Main Hall

Bourbon Room

Toby & Tony Gorant
2025 Read Family Difference Maker
Award Recipients

The Read Family Difference Maker Award celebrates quiet, consistent contributions that shape the soul of our community. This award is part of the Leadership Akron Life Trustee Awards Trinity. This year’s recipients, Tony and Toby Gorant, exemplify this spirit through decades of humble, relational, and deeply impactful service to Greater Akron.

After Tony’s passing in 2011, his legacy of leadership was honored through the creation of the Tony Gorant Community Leadership Institute (CLI), a program developed by Cleveland Clinic Akron General in partnership with Leadership Akron. Spearheaded by Toby and hospital leaders, the CLI reflects Tony’s belief in balancing professional excellence with civic responsibility. The program gives health system leaders an opportunity to explore Akron’s community landscape and complete service projects in Tony’s memory – projects that continue to leave a lasting mark.

Each year, participants in the CLI class carry out service projects in Tony’s memory – past projects have included painting buildings at the IBH Addiction Recovery and installing free lending libraries in Akron elementary schools. It’s a living tribute to Tony’s belief that leadership is about showing up and giving back, no matter your title.

Tony Gorant was known not only for his leadership in the financial sector – serving as Senior Vice President at Baird and a former executive at FirstMerit – but also for the steady presence he brought to countless boards and initiatives across the region. Whether advising the GAR Foundation, stewarding resources for The University of Akron, or helping guide the Greater Akron Chamber’s finance committee, Tony was widely seen as a wise, measured, and reliable voice – “the calm in the storm,” as many described him.

His wife, Toby Gorant, has long mirrored that same commitment to community – though often in her own quiet and behind-the-scenes way. Known for being the “first to say yes” when a need arises, Toby’s fingerprints are on some of Akron’s most treasured institutions: from championing women and families through her service to the Women’s Endowment Fund and Stewart’s Caring Place, to cultivating the arts as a dedicated leader with the Akron Art Museum. While she’s never sought the spotlight, her generosity and warmth have left a mark that is both broad and deeply personal.

Together, Tony and Toby lived out a shared philosophy of servant leadership – giving consistently, connecting generously, and making sure the right people were at the table, even when they didn’t sit at it themselves. Their enduring legacy remains a powerful example of generosity grounded not in recognition, but in a deep and abiding love for Akron – one that Toby continues to embody through her ongoing service.