The Jessica Howard Memorial Scholarship began in 2004 after Jessica Howard’s life was tragically ended in an automobile accident on July 26, 2003. At the funeral, one of the Howard’s family friends, Sen. Larry Means, stated that he was going to give out a scholarship in Jessica’s memory to one of her classmates graduating from Etowah High School in the Class of 2004.
It was originally thought that the scholarship would last only a couple of years but due to the kindness and generous gifts of their friends and family the scholarship has been awarded to the following graduates over the past 10 years: Class of 2004 – Carli Lee; Class of 2005 – Lana White; Class of 2006 – Lindsey Culver; Class of 2007 – Evan Thomas; Class of 2008 – Rachel Battles; Class of 2009 – Amanda Wise; Class of 2010 – Dalton Gillian, Christian Burton, Ashley Hill and Crystal Nance; Class of 2011 – Kaitlin Clay; Class of 2012 – Maria Gamez, Scotty Smith and Angela Waker; Class of 2013 – Marcus Hatter; and now the Class of 2014 – Brooklon Langston will be awarded a $1,000.00 scholarship during the awards ceremony on May 22. Mayor Larry Means stated that he wants to see this scholarship continue and he has committed to donate in the future. Brooklon is planning on attending Gadsden State Community College in the fall where she will begin her studies in the Radiology field.