NWCC Scholarship Endowment established by DeSoto Rifle and Pistol Club
By Sarah Smith
Aug 2, 2024- Northwest Mississippi Community College Foundation announced their latest endowment, the “DeSoto Rifle and Pistol Club Endowed Scholarship.”
This scholarship was established by the DeSoto Rifle and Pistol Club’s Board of Directors: Chairman, Jimmie Neal; Director of Activities & Training, Kevin Hutchenson; Director of Membership, Greg Barnes; Director of Operations, Clint Kelley; Director of Finance, Gene Mallett; and Director-at-Large, Chris Simons.
The DeSoto Rifle and Pistol Club is a non-profit club, dedicated to philanthropy, education and safety by building a community of those who are passionate about shooting sports. They have about 900 active members, and about 100 acres of property located in Como. Members can come and go as they please to shoot from sunrise to sunset.
They also participate in a statewide initiative for middle school and high school students that was established by the Department of Wildlife and Recreation, which allows for a shooting sport. They have tournaments across the state in the fall for participating students. Neal, the Club’s Chairman, coaches the Senatobia team.
The requirements for this scholarship is that students must be on a Career-Technical Education (CTE) pathway, maintain a 2.0 GPA, and are from one of the service district counties.
The requirements of the CTE pathway were important to the board, but particularly Neal, who himself studied a CTE pathway at Northwest after serving in the army in the ’90s. He said that he thinks CTE students make up a lot of students who are in the area and going to college to study.
Neal has long ties with the college even before his time as a student, his grandparents were residence hall directors at the college and afterward lived nearby. He said he remembers visiting his grandma and grandpa at Yalobusha Hall.
This endowed scholarship has been in the making for two years. The Club is pleased to announce that the first scholarship will be awarded by the Foundation in 2025.
If you’re interested in learning more about this scholarship or the Northwest Foundation, please visit https://www.northwestms.edu/about/foundation.
