MANSFIELD — There was only one question before Reagan Collura and her friends climbed aboard the carousel.

Were they ready to ride?

Arms flew up, faces lit with wide smiles and cheers erupted around the Richland Carrousel Park as the 23-year-old and her friends prepared for their first ride of the day together.

For Reagan, the day meant more than a ride on the carousel. She wanted to share a place she has loved for years with the people she now spends her days with at AC Passage, an adult day care program in Medina County.

(Story continues below. Reagan Collura and her friends from AC Passage at the Richland Carrousel Park. Credit: Hannah Martin)

The day the community rallied around Reagan

In November 2009, Reagan’s family gathered at the Richland Carrousel Park for a fundraiser that collected more than $20,000 to help her get a service dog.

Her love of the carousel led Dottie Collura, Reagan’s mother, to choose the location as the site of the fundraiser.

“She loved to come here,” Collura said. “So I was like, ‘Let’s do it [the fundraiser] here.'”

Collura and her son went into the community asking for donations. The event included a silent auction with baskets donated by community members, pizza donated by Gionino’s and people who simply wrote checks to help.

At the end of the night, Collura said they were sitting around $18,000, only $2,000 short of their goal, when her son spotted a check on the ground.

“I picked it up, it was $2,020,” Collura added, “from an individual who’s never had children and doesn’t like dogs.”

On Sept. 24, 2010, Reagan was able to get Floppy, a golden Labrador retriever.

Floppy received specialized training, including how to help keep Reagan away from water, which posed a serious danger to her.

Collura said if Floppy saw Reagan heading toward water, the dog would knock her down and lie on top of her until an adult arrived.

“That was her special skill,” Collura said.

Nearly 16 years to the day later, on Sept. 23, Reagan returned to the carousel with a new group of people to share the experience.

Collura said Reagan attended Ontario schools before the family moved to Wadsworth in 2015. Moving away, however, did not end Reagan’s connection to the Richland Carrousel Park.

Reagan has returned to the carousel since the fundraiser, including a visit for the park’s 45th anniversary.

During that visit, Collura asked Reagan whether she would like to bring her friends.

“I said, wouldn’t it be fun if all your friends were here?” Collura said. “And she said, yeah, like yelled, yeah.”

(Story continues below. Reagan rides on the carousel at Richland Carrousel Park with her mother, Dottie Collura. Credit: Hannah Martin)

Collura took brochures from the Richland Carrousel Park and reached out to Nicole Myers, the programs coordinator at AC Passage, to see if the group could make the trip.

The answer was yes.

Collura arranged for the group to ride the carousel and worked with Dan Lew, owner of Coney Island Diner and DLX, to have lunch delivered from Coney Island Diner. She also made a donation to help make the visit possible.

“It was just a nice way to support Richland County,” Collura said.

AC Passage participant’s sweatshirt while riding on the carousel. (Credit: Hannah Martin)

Reagan’s friends arrived wearing matching sweatshirts with messages about empowerment on the backs. Collura said for AC Passage, it marked their first visit to Richland County.

Myers said AC Passage regularly takes its participants into the community for a variety of events.

“Every month, I coordinate a field trip, community outings, lunch outings,” Myers said. “We go to the parks. We do so much.”

The program has 36 individuals, although not everyone attends on the same day. Myers said the outings give participants opportunities to meet people, build relationships and become part of their communities.

“People need to know we’re here,” she said. “We’re here and we need to get out and let everybody know that we are all one happy family in the world.”

Memories made that will last a lifetime

Myers said the group drove an hour to visit the carousel with Reagan.

“They were so excited,” Myers said. “I mean, they are so happy right now.”

(Story continues below. AC Passage participants take their first ride on the carousel at Richland Carrousel Park. Credit: Hannah Martin)

Joyce Wells, who was selected as the first CEO of Richland Carrousel Park in June 2025, said she remembers the day Reagan and her family were able to raise the funds that helped bring Floppy into her life.

Seeing Reagan return with her friends brought back memories for Wells of the day Collura brought up the fundraiser and Wells learned how much a service dog would cost.

“We were all like, it costs how much?” Wells said. “There’s no way we can do that.”

But the community showed up and helped the family reach its financial goal.

Reagan later lost Floppy when the dog’s spleen burst at age 11. Collura said the family welcomed Stella, a standard poodle, as Reagan’s next service dog.

Through it all, Reagan’s connection to the carousel remains.

When asked whether she was having fun during the visit, Reagan signed “yes,” according to Collura.

Asked whether she was happy to be back at the carousel with her friends, she again signed yes.

“I mean, just knowing that she loves this place so much and she enjoys it, that’s all we want for her,” Collura said. “We just want her to be happy and enjoy life because it really is too short.”

(Reagan at the Richland Carrousel Park with her mother, Dottie, Wednesday morning. Credit: Hannah Martin)

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