The John B. and Brownie Young Memorial Fund

In May, 1961, the late Senator Gates F. Young established the John B. and Brownie Young Memorial Fund to honor the memory of his father and mother.

In the boyhood days of Mr. Young, colleges were scarce in Kentucky and bore little resemblance to the fine institutions of today. Communication was also poor, and it was not uncommon for gifted young people to find out how college training might have enriched their lives, only after it was too late.

Influenced by these early recollections, he became convinced that the step from high school to college is a difficult and often impossible one for many worthy, but needy students. Being deeply grateful to friends for repeatedly honoring him with high public office in the Commonwealth, Senator Young resolved to show his appreciation by the gift of a substantial portion of his personal resources in trust, the income from which would provide freshman-year college scholarships, year after year, in perpetuity.

Devoted son that he was, he named the fund for his late father and mother. Before his death in April, 1967 he had the satisfaction of seeing a number of scholarship winners continue their education by their own efforts, and with the help of scholastic recognition, they won for themselves in college, one of them being awarded both Woodrow Wilson and Danforth Fellowships.

Branch Banking and Trust Company was selected by Senator Young to serve as Trustee of the Scholarship Fund. Recently, Independence Bank was appointed Successor Trustee of the Memorial Fund. The Trustee, together with the Superintendents of McLean County Public Schools, Daviess County Public Schools, Owensboro Public Schools, and the Owensboro Catholic Diocese constitute an Advisory Committee which is vested with the authority to select the recipients of the scholarships.

To be eligible for a Young Memorial Fund Scholarship, a student must be a high school senior in one of the four school districts listed above, rank in the top one-third of their class at the end of the fall semester of the senior year, be unmarried, and plan to attend an accredited non-profit college, university or vocation/technical school on a full-time basis.