Bob Asmussen | 'She never let a challenge stop her'

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MONTICELLO — Toni Bargman’s legacy of giving and kindness lives on in Monticello.

It was on full display Saturday at the Monticello High School football game, where hundreds of pork chop sandwiches were sold by her friends and family to raise funds for the continuation of scholarships in her honor.

The tally was a hefty $2,565. Toni would have approved of the result.

It’s been a decade since Toni was cruelly taken from her loved ones, the victim of a random, senseless murder at a rest area south of Rockford. Toni was 44 at the time of her passing.

A beloved figure in the community, Toni was always willing to pitch in.

“She was just a dynamite person,” said Jim Singleton, a longtime coworker of Toni’s at CIBM Bank. “Had a great heart. Had a giving heart.

“A big hole was left with her passing.”

She played an important role with the Monticello Athletic Boosters. And beyond.

“She volunteered her time at school and was not afraid to jump in,” Singleton said.

In 2015, the Athletic Boosters decided to start a scholarship program in her name.

Initially, one $1,000 award was given to a Monticello High School senior. The program has grown. Now, three such awards are given each year.

The recipients are students “who are involved and donate their time.”

“We want to see kids that are giving parts of themselves for other people,” Singleton said. “That was totally her.

“She never let a challenge stop her from doing anything.”

Scholarship applications are due in the spring and announced on scholarship night late in the semester.

“It’s hard to choose from,” Singleton said. “There’s a lot of talented, thoughtful, giving kids in this community. But we also want to make sure a need is being met.”

Before Singleton was involved in the scholarship decision process, his son Benton was a recipient.

“He volunteered with Toni,” Singleton said. “He knew the importance of volunteering your time and giving of yourself and making those sacrifices.”

Good job by Jim and wife Shannon, a teacher.

“We raised both of our kids (Benton and daughter Gabi) ‘You see someone needs help, you help them,’” Singleton said. “They both took that to heart.”

Benton attended Illinois College and is now a teacher and coach at Monticello. Full circle.

“That scholarship Benton got helped that first year,” Singleton said. “Every little bit helped.”

And that also works with funding the scholarships.

In 2016, a cookout was organized as a way to help pay for the program. Hot dogs were given away and donations accepted.

“And people donated,” Singleton said. “We raised $1,500 that first year.”

The third year, the cookout expanded to include pork chop sandwiches. It was a hit at Saturday’s game — there were 350 grilled on site.

For $7, hungry fans got a pork chop sandwich, bottle of water and bag of chips. Sandwiches alone were $5.

The fund drive is far from over. Donations will be accepted all year by the Monticello Athletic Boosters.

The food for the annual cookout is purchased by CIBM Bank. All the proceeds go to the scholarship fund.

Toni’s husband, Jon, has been involved in the cookouts. So has her sister Tammy Sebens, who still lives in Monticello.

Work friends

Toni spent almost two decades in various roles at CIBM Bank. She rose to become the retail market manager. All the branch managers reported to her.

“She wore a lot of different hats and impacted and touched a lot of people,” Singleton said.

That’s where she got to know Singleton, now a senior vice president, who has been with the bank for 27 years.

“She actually hired me back in 1997 as a teller,” Singleton said. “We knew each other both being from Monticello. We had a connection being here.

“Through the years, both of us climbed up the ladder. The last several years, our jobs intersected a lot.”

Toni knew the importance of her job. But she wanted it to be pleasant for the employees.

“She always tried to make sure there was a little joy, a little lightheartedness,” Singleton said. “She was always trying to lighten the mood and just bring a sparkle to a situation and make people laugh.

“We laughed a lot at work. We were serious when we needed to be serious, but were also not take ourselves too serious. She was just really good about that.”

Customers and employees got to know her. She was one of the first faces they saw when they walked in the bank.

Always in their thoughts

There is a photo of Toni that hangs at the Monticello branch of the bank, visible to employees but not the public.

“A day doesn’t go by that we don’t reminisce,” Singleton said. “It’s been 10 years, but still to this day, she is just the heart and soul of a lot of what we did.”

Her coworkers made rubber bracelets inscribed with “WWTD: What Would Toni Do?”

“We banded together. How can we make this go and still honor her?” Singleton said. “That’s what she would want us to do.”

The bank has long had a tradition of celebrating milestone anniversaries with the employees.

For what would have been Toni’s 20th anniversary, a dinner was held in her honor that included employees and her family.

“We honor her commitment,” Singleton said.

Toni worked at the Monticello branch from the day it opened in 1995.

“People knew her. People counted on her,” Singleton said.