By Shannon McFarlin News Director
Paris, Tenn.–At a signing ceremony at Henry County High School Thursday morning, Blake Kennedy of Puryear was announced as the first recipient of the Brannon Family Endowed Scholarship for students pursuing a degree in agriculture at Murray State University.
Kennedy and Hunter Goodman–both HCHS graduates–earlier received scholarships from the Brannon Family to attend Murray State.
Kennedy is the son of Chad and Stephanie Kennedy of Puryear and has been an integral part of operating Kennedy Farms for some time. He was active in the Paris FFA while in high school and in his senior year at HCHS, he was named the State Star in Agribusinesses.
Murray State University Hutson School of Agriculture Dean Dr. Tony Brannon and his brother, Tim, established and endowed the Brannon Family Scholarship for current and incoming Murray State students pursuing a degree in agriculture in the fall.
Dr. Brannon presented a program to HCHS agriculture students this morning, along with his brother Tim. Both Brannons are HCHS graduates. Tim Brannon owns B&G Equipment in Paris.
Dr. Brannon spoke of the inspiration he drew from the late Dave Wilcox, who founded the Allegro Fine Foods company in Paris along with his wife Betsy Ross Wilcox. “He had a passion for the FFA and did so much for the program and he was our inspiration when we decided to start the Brannon Family Scholarship,” he said.
The Henry County/Paris FFA was the first FFA program in the United States and has won numerous awards over the years. Dr. Brannon thanked his former teachers and ag advisors at the high school and gave kudos to the current teachers Laura Moss, Ryan Inman and Chance Young for carrying on the tradition.
Eligible scholarship applicants must be full-time students and FFA members from the Brannons’ home of Henry County, majoring in agriculture with a minimum GPA of 3.0 on a 4.0 scale. In the event there are no applicants from Henry County, recipients shall be graduates of Calloway County High School.
Dr. Brannon and MSU President Dr. Bob Jackson are in Paris this morning speaking to the Paris-Henry County Chamber and Rotary Club. While at HCHS, Dr. Jackson also spoke to students about choosing Murray State.
In photo are: standing from left, Ranson Goodman with Henry Co. UT Extension, FFA Advisors Chance Young and Laura Moss, Betsy Allison of Henry County Schools; front row, MSU President Dr. Jackson; Tony Brannon, Blake Kennedy and Tim Brannon (Shannon McFarlin photo).