About the Tanya Clavey Memorial Foundation

The first thing we should do is introduce you to Tanya M. Clavey and her story. Tanya was a 16-year-old high school student who was just about to start her adult life when a tragic accident took it.

Tanya was attending a Halloween party in the mountains of Arcadia CA, 1989. As her ride was departing she realized there were more passengers than seat belts. She accepted a ride from an acquaintance, as a last result. Tanya was seated in the back of a 2 door, 4 passenger vehicle. Regrettably, the driver was impaired and showed poor judgment as he lost control of his vehicle navigating a sharp curve. He crashed through a guard rail plummeting to the mountain base. Tanya was the only one wearing her seat belt. She died on impact next to the passenger who was ejected into the darkness of that night. It took several hours to locate him. Miraculously he survived but fell into a coma finally regaining consciousness the day of Tanya’s funeral.

The Tanya Clavey Memorial Foundation is a not-for-profit organization established by one police officer in an effort to provide tuition assistance to upcoming police officers. The foundation selects a motivated student that is doing well academically but may be struggling to raise tuition money for the Law Enforcement Academy. The Tanya Clavey Memorial scholarship is available to a Manatee County high school student or alumni who wants to become a Police Officer and make a positive difference in our community. The gentleman who started the foundation is Tanya’s brother, Adam Spatafora, a Deputy Sheriff with the Manatee County Sheriff’s Office. The scholarship is presented in honor of the memory of Tanya M. Clavey, the victim of a DUI crash.