Contact: Allison Matthews
A newly endowed scholarship is memorializing a longtime Mississippi State University Extension Service employee and former Clinton resident.
A recent $25,000 contribution from the Mississippi Council of Cooperatives has established the L.L. "Red" Monroe Cooperative Endowed Scholarship in MSU's College of Agriculture and Life Sciences.
An Extension Service employee for nearly 30 years, Monroe held bachelor's and master's degrees in agriculture from the college. He died in 2001 at the age of 85.
Having honored Monroe with annual scholarships for a number of years, the MCC now is continuing the tradition by contributing an additional $1,000 for the 2012-13 school year so funds from the endowment may accrue.
"We of the Mississippi Council of Cooperatives are very proud to name this endowed scholarship in Red Monroe's honor," said Gary Blair, who serves as the group's scholarship chairman. "The scholarship stands as a perpetual tribute to his legacy of service to agriculture and to cooperatives across the state of Mississippi.
"He was a true Bulldog who had a love for students and his university," added Blair, an MSU alumnus.
Organized in 1945, the nonprofit council has been the principal body charged with promoting cooperatives at local, state and regional levels. It represents most every agricultural, electric, marketing, and food co-op in the Magnolia State.
Monroe began his Extension Service career in 1950 as assistant county agent in Franklin County. Four years later, he moved to Jackson as an assistant marketing specialist. He retired in 1979 as a livestock marketing specialist.
During his career, Monroe worked to expand market opportunities for state farmers. He was a longtime member of the Mississippi Association of County Agricultural Agents and a selection for its Distinguished Service Award. He also received numerous commendations from the 4-H Association, Mississippi Cooperative Council and MSU.
In Clinton, Monroe was active in community affairs. In 1966, he became a founding member of the Callaway High School Booster Club, and was an integral part of the Clinton Shriners Drum Corps for many years. He was a Freemason and 32nd Degree Shriner member of the Wahabi Temple.
A native of Decatur in Newton County, he was an East Central Junior College graduate who went on to World War II service in the South Pacific as a sergeant in the U.S. Army Signal Corps.
Blair said candidates for the Monroe Scholarship should be Mississippi residents enrolling as full-time freshmen in the college, and meeting certain academic and demonstrated leadership benchmarks. Preference will be given to children of current MCC employees or members, or those with family members who are involved with any Mississippi cooperative.
The Monroe Cooperative Endowed Scholarship is an open fund in the MSU Foundation that may be increased through additional contributions.
For more information about Mississippi State University, see www.msstate.edu.