Contact: Sammy McDavid
STARKVILLE, Miss.--A Pearl River County alumni couple is establishing two memorial scholarships at Mississippi State to honor former classmates.
Bobby and Regina Sanford of Carriere have endowed the scholastic awards to benefit students in the university's Bagley College of Engineering and College of Education.
Endowed scholarships at MSU may be established with a minimum contribution of $25,000.
Bobby Sanford, who was reared in Gulfport and Laurel, is a 1990 petroleum engineering graduate. He now works with the Chevron Corp. in Covington, La. A Stringer native who received a doctorate in curriculum and instruction in 1991, his wife supervises secondary instruction for the St. Tammany Parish School District, also in Covington.
Both have been active in promoting MSU through their work with the New Orleans and Pearl River County [Miss.] alumni chapters. At present, they are co-presidents of the Pearl River organization.
The Sanford Scholarship in Engineering honors Lucedale native Jerry Myrick, a fellow 1990 petroleum engineering graduate who was employed with the Oklahoma-based Schlumberger Ltd. oil field services company. Myrick died in 2004 following a lengthy battle with cancer.
"Jerry had to work his way through school, but he knew what he wanted and he knew that a Mississippi State education could get him there," Bobby said.
The Sanford Scholarship in Education will honor Pheba resident David Hannabass, who left MSU one class short of completing his petroleum engineering degree.
"David was one of the smartest guys in our class," Bobby Sanford recalled. "He was our rock; always calm and collected. He was the one who kept us on track."
Hannabass worked as an independent contractor in the Golden Triangle area--Columbus, Starkville and West Point--until his death in a 2001 automobile accident.
"Together, Jerry, David and Bobby were "the three musketeers,'" Regina observed. "They were a very close study group, and we all continued to stay in touch and have a Mississippi State tailgating crew."
Added her husband: "We were all very dedicated to Mississippi State University and to petroleum engineering. In between study sessions, we would sit around and talk about how, someday, we would give back to the university.
"I just didn't know that I would have to fulfill that pledge alone," he said.
To be eligible for both Sanford Scholarships, candidates in engineering and education must have completed at least 30 semester hours toward their degree.
For more information on memorial scholarships, contact Bo Hemphill, executive director of development, at 662-325-3686 or bhemphill@foundation.msstate.edu.
For more information about Mississippi State University, see http://www.msstate.edu/.