Contact: Sammy McDavid
STARKVILLE, Miss.--A $250,000 bequest from one of Mississippi State's most beloved alumni will continue his very special place in university history.
Longtime U.S. congressman G.V. "Sonny" Montgomery, a 1943 business graduate, died several months ago in his hometown of Meridian at age 85. A sizeable portion--$180,000--of his gift will benefit the Montgomery Scholars Program, which he established in 2001.
Another $20,000 is being earmarked for the Montgomery Endowed Scholarship Fund at the MSU-Meridian campus. Proceeds from a life insurance policy in the amount of $34,000 also will benefit the fund.
Through the years, Montgomery's gifts to his alma mater included support for academic scholarships and the Mitchell Memorial Library, where official papers from his 15-term congressional career are housed. The library is receiving $50,000 through the bequest.
Montgomery was honored numerous times in life by MSU--most recently in 2005 with a life-sized monument by the Student Association. Today, "Sonny's statue" stands at the southwest corner of the Drill Field, on which he spent many hours as a member of Army ROTC.
In Lauderdale County, the Montgomery Foundation has announced the creation of the Montgomery Defense Leadership Awards at Mississippi State. The $5,000 scholarships will recognize the top first-year advanced Army and Air Force ROTC senior cadets.
The foundation also is establishing the Montgomery Political Science Leadership Award, which will provide a $5,000 scholarship for the top political science major finishing the junior year of study.
Presentation of the various new Montgomery awards is being planned for spring 2007.
In addition, a new student development program in the Division of Student Affairs will serve as a memorial to the land-grant institution's one-time student body president. The Appalachian Leadership Honors Program, launched by MSU President Robert H. "Doc" Foglesong, is a partnership with other universities across the Appalachian region.
On the Starkville campus, it is being designated as the Sonny Montgomery Chapter. Members of an inaugural class currently being selected and those of the future will carry the title of Montgomery Honor Fellows. In addition to working regularly with assigned mentors and participating in ongoing leadership seminars, each Fellow will be actively involved in various campus and community service activities.
Montgomery retired in 1996 from a 41-year public service career that also included a decade in the Mississippi Senate. Following his election to the U. S. House of Representatives in 1966, Montgomery held the 3rd Congressional District office through the terms of seven presidents.
He won national acclaim for leadership in passing 1988 legislation that included extended benefitsâ¢especially educationâ¢of the original 1947 G.I. Bill legislation. As a sign of respect for his efforts, congressional colleagues designated the benefits package as the Montgomery G.I. Bill. It also helped cement his honorary Capitol Hill title of "Mr. Veteran."
Montgomery also devoted three decades of his life to military service that included active duty in World War II and the Korean War. He retired from the Mississippi Army National Guard with the rank of major general.
In 2005, President George W. Bush awarded him the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the highest civilian honor awarded by the United States.
Among those recently joining President Foglesong on campus to announce the Montgomery Defense Leadership Awards were Montgomery Foundation president Bob Bailey of Yazoo City; former Montgomery aide Kyle Steward of Tupelo, now administrative assistant to Rep. Roger Wicker, R-Miss.; and Richard Armstrong of Meridian, regional campaign director for MSU's "State of the Future" major-gift campaign.
For additional information on the various Sonny Montgomery scholarships, contact Amy Cagle of the MSU Foundation at 662-325-7000 or acagle@advservices.msstate.edu.
For more information about Mississippi State University, see http://www.msstate.edu/.