MHS 40 Year Club News We Have Rescheduled! - The MHS 40-year club gathering is scheduled for Saturday, May 28th, 2022.    The events will all be held at the Ouachita Center at the University of Arkansas Rich Mountain, located at 1100 College Drive, Mena, AR  71953.  Click here for more information, invitation and registration form. Please share with your friends and classmates!! Having a Special Gathering for Your Class? - If you are planning an event to coincide with our reunion, please let us know so we can list it in the Event Schedule!  Click here and let Madeline Baird (Website Contact) know - we will add it as soon as we are able!

 

Mena has been blessed with folks who enjoy coming home to see old friends and relatives. The MHS 40 Year Club offers an opportunity to former graduates to come together every two years.  Many of our members wish to give something to the future graduates that will always be remembered.  Think about the past; was there funding when you wanted to go to college? If you can help today, there are certainly students worthy of your consideration who will someday be MHS 40 Year Club members.
 

MHS 40 Year Club Scholarships

For those new members of the MHS 40 Year Club and also for those members who have always wondered just how our scholarship committee functions, where the monies come from, and where and how the funds are awarded, now is your time of learning:

Scholarship History

When the MHS 40 Year Club was started in 1956, the purpose was to have a time and place for those graduates (40 years or more since graduating) to get together every two years.  As time passed it was determined that there was an additional need to help deserving new MHS graduates  who wished to go on to a college of their choice.  Several 40 Year Club members wished to give or leave money for this purpose.

In 1982, the Scholarship Committee was first formed with Elita Flick, Pauline Morrow, Dick Barham, Dick Carver and Lee McMillan as founding members.  Louise Waters and Omar Washburn soon became very active with the Scholarship Committee, and Louise soon became chairperson and continued with that responsibility until recently when she thought it time to turn over those duties.  We are grateful for the commitment Louise made to the MHS Scholarship Fund.  Louise has agreed to remain on the board.
 

The MHS 40 Year Club Scholarship Committee has received many wonderful contributions over the years.  The very first came from Billie Reed Stayer, who contributed $1000.00 in memory of her parents, William P. and Margaret Reed; Morris Griffith left a substantial contribution in his will.
As of January 2017, the Mena High School 40 Year Club Endowment Scholarship Fund established through the Rich Mountain Community College Foundation has a balance of $79,669. The interest from the endowment funds provides three scholarship awards at $500 each per semester/$1000 each per annual award based on the $25,000 per endowment level/per scholarship. The endowment funds established in perpetuity by the Mena High School 40 Year Club are a lasting legacy for the future of Mena High School graduates to pursue their higher educational goals.

As of January 2022, the Mena High School 40 Year Club Endowment Scholarship Fund established through the Rich Mountain Community College Foundation has a balance of more than $112,000. The interest from the endowment funds provides three scholarship awards at $500 each per semester/$1000 each per annual award based on the $25,000 per endowment level/per scholarship. The endowment funds established in perpetuity by the Mena High School 40 Year Club are a lasting legacy for the future of Mena High School graduates to pursue their higher educational goals.

University of Arkansas Rich Mountain

On February 1, 2017, Rich Mountain Community College officially merged with the University of Arkansas System and now named the University of Arkansas Rich Mountain. The merger will provide increased opportunities to serve students, staff, and communities of the Ouachita Mountain Region.

The staff and faculty welcome you to visit the UA Rich Mountain campus locations. You will certainly be pleased with the impressive campus buildings and grounds. In 2014, the College opened the Ouachita Center, 13,000+ state-of-the-art conference and community center as well as the completion of renovation projects consisting of the Johnson Learning Commons and Student Union. Additional campus locations include: Waldron Campus in Scott County, Montgomery County Center in Mount Ida, School of Welding at the Mena Aviation Center, and the School of Cosmetology in the Northside Shopping Center in Mena. The staff and faculty are dedicated to serving the education and workforce training needs of this community and surrounding communities. We hope you will take the opportunity to visit and tour the campus and let them how they can help you. Call (479) 394-7622 or visit the main campus at 1100 College Drive, Mena.