Arts Council awards scholarships
By Carole Kelly
The Arts Council of Clinton recently awarded scholarships to two 2022 graduates, Wright Whitney and Max Lanford. Whitney received the Gloria Dudding Scholarship, and Lanford is the first recipient of the Wayne Richey Memorial Scholarship.
Lanford, who graduated from St. Andrews Episcopal School, will be attending Hendrix College in Conway, Arkansas, to pursue a degree in studio art. Whitney, a recent graduate of Mt. Salus Christian School, will be attending Southern Arkansas University in the fall to study interactive media and video game design.
The Rev. Robert Blanton, Arts Council president and pastor of the Episcopal Church of the Creator in Clinton, announced the scholarship winners at the recent Thacker Mountain Radio Hour held at Mississippi College.
The scholarships honor the memory of two outstanding supporters of the arts in Clinton. Gloria Dudding (1925-2008) chaired a steering committee to form the Arts Council of Clinton, for which she later served as president. She was an enthusiastic supporter of the arts and participated in community theater as an actor and director throughout Mississippi for almost four decades.
Wayne Richey served as the treasurer of the Arts Council and was a longtime counselor and sponsor of the MATHCOUNTS team at Clinton Junior High School. Richey was awarded Clinton’s Outstanding Citizen of the Year in 2019 and was the treasurer for a number of other civic organizations.
With a goal of funding four $1,000 scholarships next year for eligible graduates in writing, visual arts, music and performance, the Arts Council welcomes help in meeting that goal.
Interested individuals can become members of the Arts Council of Clinton or can contribute to the Gloria Dudding and Wayne Richey Scholarship funds. Donations should be made payable to the Arts Council of Clinton and mailed to P.O. Box 572, Clinton, MS 39060 or by PayPal, tmrh@artscouncilofclinton.org.
