Family honors memory of daughter in The Love Mia Foundation

On Jan. 23, 2025, Mia Lockard, a 2024 Washougal High School graduate and Seattle Central College freshman, was killed by a juvenile drunk driver in a car crash on Interstate 5 near Lakewood.

Her parents and eight siblings haven’t stopped mourning their loss since then. But recently, they decided to turn their pain into purpose.

“We found that being action-oriented really helps with the grieving process,” said Scott Lockard, Mia’s father.

The family’s actions resulted in the birth of The Love Mia Foundation, a nonprofit organization that strives to further athletic and academic opportunities for Washougal District students.

“We wanted her legacy to carry on after her passing,” Lockard said. “We also wanted to give back to the community, and Mia loved Washougal.”

The foundation will initially focus on supporting Mia’s interests, such as the high school’s American Sign Language class and cheerleading program, Lockard said.

“We have some ideas on how we want it to go forward. Right now, we’re kind of keeping it open,” Lockard said. “We’re looking at probably starting off with some things Mia was passionate about.”

Mia “loved the Washougal community,” especially the high school, Lockard said.

“She loved the school, she loved her teachers,” he said. “Everyone around her had such a great impact on her life, and we’re just very grateful for that.”

The Love Mia Foundation plans to raise money through individual donations, grants and events, the first of which will be 6 to 10 p.m. Feb. 13 at the Black Pearl on the Columbia in Washougal.

The Love Mia Gala promises an evening of “food, friendship, dancing, and great times,” according to the foundation’s website.

“We want it to be a nice evening where people can come together and have a good time,” Lockard said. “There will be some pictures of Mia and stuff, but it won’t be focused so much on remembrance or sadness or anything like that. We want this to just be friends, family, people that are looking for fun, to come out, have a good time, maybe do something a little different for Valentine’s Day weekend and meet different people, have some fun and hopefully have a good meal.”

The Lockard family has received an outpouring of community support in the past year, especially from Washougal High, which honored Mia with “pink-out” events at basketball games and ASL events. Dutch Bros.’ Camas location also sold a limited release “Love Mia” drink (a raspberry and vanilla concoction with a pink soft top) and Vancouver Mothers Against Drunk Driving is dedicating its second annual “Move” fundraising event, to be held on May 30, to Mia.