The Minnie Laughton Birdsong Scholarship was created to award students for their academic and community involvement in Franklin County and surrounding areas. The $500 scholarship will encourage students as they achieve higher education and endeavor to follow their dreams. Over 40 scholarships have been offered to students based on their scholarship applications and community involvement over the past ten years.
The 2026 scholarship recipients are Andres Diaz, Dayne Carr, Liv Scott, Caden Johnson, and Rainey Johnson. Each student will receive $500.00 upon proof of admittance to college or trade school.
The Minnie Laughton Birdsong scholarship is awarded in honor of Minnie Laughton Birdsong, who has spent the last 79 years of her life embodying the purple tiger spirit of achievement. Minnie started school in Mt. Vernon at the age of six and graduated with honors in 1959. She began her teaching career in Mt. Vernon in the 1969/70 school year. As a senior English teacher and foreign language instructor, Mrs. Laughton challenged, encouraged, and advocated for hundreds of students in her 33 years in the classroom. Minnie Laughton also sponsored UIL events and teams that performed at district, regional, and state levels. While doing this, she maintained a strong positive relationship with many of the students who achieved under her instruction. After retirement in 2003, Minnie Laughton Birdsong remained in the education field by joining the Franklin County Retired School Employees Association and has served as its president for the past 20 years. Many teachers, coaches, and instructors have made grand impacts on the lives of the Mt. Vernon Tiger students, but Minnie Laughton Birdsong is a star among them.
The organization extends its congratulations to this year's scholarship recipients and encourages the students to move forward and achieve great things.
