---

Tom Reed and Lora (Hilger) Hanks were two of the more prominent former student-athletes that were recognized during the Taylors Falls tailgate party before homecoming last weekend.

The pair was being honored by the Taylors Falls Foundation as being outstanding athletes during their time at Taylors Falls High School.

Tom Reed

Reed was in the class of 1961, and he lettered in football, basketball and track and field. He was a co-captain in football and basketball, and also earned All-Conference honors in pigskin.

After Taylors Falls, Reed moved on to Hamline University where he lettered in football all four years he was there. In 1962 he was their leading rusher, and in his senior year, he was named a captain of the squad.

For 34 years after graduating from Hamline, Reed was a math and phy ed teacher at White Bear Lake. He was also the freshman football and track and field coach at Central Junior High in White Bear Lake for 28 years.

Reed also found time to be a high school football official from 1965 to 1985.

Lora (Hilger) Hanks

Hanks is a more recent graduate of TFHS, finishing her high school career in 1989. In her junior and senior year, Hanks was named the Athlete of the Year at the school, and she was the Great River Conference Most Valuable Player in both volleyball and basketball in her senior year.

Also in 1989, she qualified for the state meet in the discus event in track and field.

After graduating from TFHS, Hanks attended Bemidji State University on a volleyball scholarship. She still holds the record for digs in a season when she had 535 of them in 1992 for the Beavers. In 1992, she was named a captain of the team and earned All-Conference Honorable Mention accolades.

She was a criminal justice major at BSU and graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree in May of 1993. Immediately upon her graduation, Hanks was hired by the Minneapolis Police Department and graduated from their academy in 1994 and has worked as a patrol officer since. Also in that time, Hanks has worked as a 911 responder, a member of the community response team, mounted patrol and a fitness team member.

She is currently the Senior Cadre Officer at the MPD.

---