Saturday, May 2nd will be an exciting day, as friends and families come together for the John H. Scott Memorial Fund’s annual scholarship program. Since 1982 these scholarship awards have been offered in the Northeast Louisiana parishes of East and West Carroll, Madison, Richland, and Tensas. The amounts to be awarded are $3000 and $2000, disbursed over four years.
This year there are eight applicants. Each will be presenting an original speech to our audience and panel of judges. From Tensas Parish are Kristin Ricard and RaQuedra Lee; from Richland Parish are Gaylin Banks, Caitlin Beach, Alexia Jackson, and Isis Harris; and from East Carroll are Michelle Bell and Arianna Reynolds.
In addition to the scholarship awards, the Fund offers Memorial Awards of $300 each for Louisiana residents, to honor the lives of Mrs. Alease Truly Scott, Kendall Pullen, and Elder Tyrone Scott. This year we will be awarding The Kendall Pullen Memorial Award to Diana Kimble of Colfax, LA, for her consistent work with helping youth and her community to appreciate the outdoors. The Alease J. Scott Memorial Award will be given to Mary Earl Johnson of St. Joseph, LA, for an abundance of service to her community through civic, church, school, and professional groups. Donney Rose of Baton Rouge, LA will be awarded The Elder Tyrone Scott Memorial Award for using his exceptional creative ability to inspire youth and his community with open mic poetry reading, combining art forms in the nightclub experience, and serving as a teaching artist in various teen programs. Additionally, Frededreia Willis, a 2013 J.H. Scott Memorial Scholarship applicant will be honored for her extraordinary volunteer work with two organizations, one providing last photographs of parents with their just deceased infants. She also shares her life changing testimony with those seeking courage and hope.
The Fund is proud to introduce this year’s keynote speaker, Qaiyim El-Amin. Mr. El-Amin, a graduate from the University of Wisconsin with a Bachelor’s Degree in Art, is a member of the JHS Memorial Fund and the grandson of Rev. John H. Scott. Mr. El-Amin has skills in many areas, and has served in a number of leadership capacities including former President of Chicago State University Aquaponics Association and a member of Gama Theta Epsilon Honor Society. Mr. El-Amin is the co-Founder of Young Enterprising Society based in Milwaukee, WI. Q. El-Amin’s role has led him to build a social media following of over 18,000, six YES Tours, and countless media impressions distributed physically and digitally. Mr. El- Amin will bring a fresh perspective and words of knowledge for our young students and program audience.
Please join us at Madison High School, in Tallulah, LA on Saturday, May 2nd at 10:00AM, for a day of inspiration, gratitude and celebration in the life of John H. Scott and others that have paved the way for these students to better their lives through dedication and education. Everyone is invited to come and bring a friend for this free, uplifting community experience.
Rev. John H. Scott's life is chronicled in Witness To The Truth – My Struggle for Human Rights in Louisiana. This is the autobiographical book about this Lake Providence civil/human rights activist and Christian minister, written posthumously by his daughter, Cleo Scott Brown. In addition, the John H. Scott Memorial Fund on Facebook features related historical information and photos.