Scholarship honors late KTB leader
Published 12:00 am Thursday, February 11, 2016
LaGRANGE — Keep Troup Beautiful has created a scholarship in memory of its late, longtime director.
Doris Jefferson served as executive director for Keep Troup Beautiful from 2001 until her death in 2014.
“She was a passionate champion of litter prevention and recycling,” said Howard Mingo, KTB board chairman.
The $500 annual scholarship was established in her name with a donation from Jefferson and her son Derrick Peavy.
The scholarship is to encourage and assist worthy senior students who have demonstrated good stewardship of the environment and who wish to continue their studies at a two-year college, a trade or technical school or a four-year college or university, according to a press release from KTB. A scholarship award of $500 will be given annually to a successful applicant.
Senior students currently attending a Troup County public or private high school or home schooled as a Troup County resident are eligible to apply. Application deadline is April 15.
The recipient will be determined by a panel of judges from the Keep Troup Beautiful board of directors.
Requirements:
• Applicants must be attending a Troup County public or private high school or home schooled as a Troup County resident.
• At the time of application, applicants should be expecting to receive a high school diploma.
• Applicants should be accepted and enrolling in an accredited undergraduate program for fall.
• Applicants should have a minimum 2.5 GPA at time of application.
• Applicants must have demonstrated a commitment to the environment and their community through schoolwork and extra-curricular activities.
• Applicants will need to write a brief essay.
Jefferson received a lifetime Georgia PTA membership award, was den mother to Cub Scout Troup 531 of Mableton, co-founder of the United Way of Atlanta 211 service and two-time foster mother. She was a member of the Marietta First Christian Church, Disciples of Christ.
Her early career included time as a flight attendant for American Airlines where she developed a love of travel along with her husband, Bob, who was employed by Southern Airways at the time. She later worked for Bell South of Atlanta for over 35 years in the human resources department before dedicating her final years to a life of service with United Way, Austell Presbyterian Church and other nonprofits, including Keep Troup Beautiful.