MECC Foundation Raises More Than $50,000 during Scott County Endowed Scholarship Event

Hiltons, VA – The Mountain Empire Community College Foundation recently raised more than $50,000 at a special event to assist Scott County students attending MECC.

The Scott County Endowed Scholarship Event was held Saturday, August 25, at Crooked River Farm in Hiltons, Va. The event featured Grammy nominated bluegrass artists Blue Highway, with catering provided by North Fork Catering in Weber City. A silent auction was also held.

Major sponsors for the event included David & Annette Templeton, owners of Crooked River Farm, and Courtesy Chevrolet. Additional sponsors include Mark & Judy Musick, Humphreys Enterprises, Campus Drive-In, Jack & Martha Rhoton, New Peoples Bank, R-Mac Realty, Eastman Credit Union, Powell Valley National Bank, Komatsu, Scott County Telephone Cooperative, the Town of Nickelsville, Thermocopy, Otis Rhoton & Food City.

Silent auction items were provided by Belk, Bristol Motor Speedway, Bruno Bikes, David J. Clapp Photography, Made by Hands Floral, Meadowview Conference, Resort & Convention Center, Paul Mitchell Systems, Roberts & Jones, Jennifer Fletcher Meade & Danny Meade, TempurPedic and Quillin Hardware.

During the event, MECC Foundation Board Member and Scott County native Mark Musick announced a major gift to the college. Joyce Tallman, 91 of Atlanta, served as assistant to the president at the Southern Regional Education Board in Atlanta for more than 30 years of her 50 years with the organization. She was born in Knoxville and was a former employee of the Oak Ridge National Laboratory. She was the longest serving member of the SREB staff.

Ms. Tallman named the MECC Foundation as a recipient of a $25,000 matching gift as part of the Joyce Cutshaw Tallman Trust. She passed away on Saturday, September 1.

“It’s inspiring to me that a person that has never been on the campus or in the community wants to help this region’s residents receive an education. She was quite a person,” said Musick, a longtime friend and co-worker of Ms. Tallman.

Amy Greear, MECC Vice President for Institutional Advancement at MECC and Executive Director of the MECC Foundation, stated that the August 25 event doubled the amount held in the Scott County Endowed Scholarship Fund.

“We are incredibly grateful that so many rallied around this cause,” said Greear. “This scholarship will benefit Scott County students now and in the years to come. Our single purpose is to remove any financial barrier for a student to attend MECC. We want all students to be able to reach their career and educational goals in order to live and work in our region. We are closer to doing that now thanks to the generosity of this community.”

For more information on the Scott County Endowed Scholarship or to donate to this fund, call the MECC Foundation office at 276.523.7480 or visit www.meccfoundation.org.

-MECC FOUNDATION-