THOMAS W. McELMURRAY SCHOLARSHIP
The Aiken Soil and Water Conservation District will be awarding the Thomas McElmurray Scholarship to a graduating senior from Aiken County. The recipient will be awarded a $2,500 scholarship to use this fall. Download the application below.
Eligible students must be planning to attend a college, university, or technical college to pursue a degree in agriculture, earth science, forestry, wildlife biology, or environmental natural resources in the fall of 2024. The applicant must have met the admission requirements and have been accepted to the institution of his/her choice.
Applications can be mailed to or dropped off at the Aiken Soil and Water Conservation District office at 1555 Richland Avenue East, Suite 400 in Aiken, SC 29801 or e-mailed to aikensoilandwater@gmail.com.
The application deadline is Thursday, April 25, 2025, at 4:00 p.m.
PREVIOUS RECIPIENTS
2024: Miley Coffey
2023 Zeb Proctor
2022: Lance Brown
THOMAS W. McELMURRAY SCHOLARSHIP
Mr. McElmurray was born in 1933 and raised in Beech Island, SC. He was a lifelong farmer and owner/operator of McElmurray Farms, Inc. in Jackson, SC, where he lived most of his life as a dedicated husband and father. Mr. McElmurray served on the South Carolina State Agricultural Commission and was elected as a District Commissioner for the Aiken Soil and Water Conservation District where he served for 44 years. He was a graduate of Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College and was an avid Clemson fan having had two of his children educated there. Mr. McElmurray was also a member of Gideons International, the Beech Island Agricultural Club, the Beech Island Historical Society, served on the Jackson Town Council for 12 years, was a member of the First Baptist Church of Jackson where he served as a deacon and Sunday School teacher. Mr. McElmurray dedicated countless hours of his time to soil and water conservation in Aiken County and the state of South Carolina. In his memory, and with his spirit of conservation, the Aiken Soil and Water Conservation District offers this $2,500 scholarship to a senior graduating from an Aiken County High School seeking to further his/her education and obtain a career in the ongoing work of soil and water conservation in South Carolina.