The Bon Hughes and Lillian McElreath Annual Scholarship has been established at Northwest Mississippi Community College by David and Leisa McElreath to benefit students with ties to Veterans Affairs, health care and criminal justice.

First priority for the scholarship will be given to a Northwest Oxford Campus student who is employed by the Mississippi Veterans Affairs Board, the spouse of an individual working for MVAB or the child of a parent employed by MVAB. If no such candidate is available, preference will be given to a student pursuing a career in health care or criminal justice.

The scholarship is in memory of David McElreath’s parents. Both his father and grandfather were military veterans, and McElreath retired from the Marine Corps in 2004. Since that time, he has worked as a criminal justice professor at his alma mater, the University of Mississippi, and maintained a very active role serving on the Mississippi Veterans Affairs Board. His wife, Leisa, studied criminal justice at Ole Miss, and is currently a member of the state Crime Stoppers board.

The McElreaths, Oxford residents, are not Northwest alumni, but simply chose to give back where they thought it could make a difference.

“I’ve been fortunate,” David said. “If folks who are fortunate give back, then we’ll have another generation coming along behind us that should also feel fortunate, and maybe they’ll pay it forward.” 

Recipients of the Bon Hughes and Lillian McElreath Annual Scholarship must maintain a 2.0 GPA while enrolled at Northwest.