LTC Marvin T. Stewart Memorial Scholarship Program
Established in late 2000, the LCOC scholarship program was established in memory of LTC Marvin T. Stewart, USAR (Ret) and named “The Lieutenant Colonel Marvin T. Stewart Memorial Scholarship.” In 2001, the program’s first year, two $500 scholarships were awarded to JROTC students from the Greater Baton Rouge area.
LCOC scholarships are offered to applicants from across Louisiana. The initial goal was to annually award a single $500 academic scholarship. Collections to grow the fund were provided over the years by “pass-the-hat” collections during LCOC Board meetings, chapter donations/sponsorships, and individual donations/sponsorships. In 2013, for the first time, the scholarship protocol allowed students to apply regardless of their intent to enroll in the Reserve Officer Training Corps (ROTC) at the university level. By 2019 the fund’s value, aided by chapter and individual sponsorships, supported awarding more than a single scholarship. The trend continued and by 2021 the program routinely offered multiple scholarships each year, often worth at least $1,500.
In late 2024, Council members voted to award two $1,500 scholarships for the current Academic Year (AY) along with significant revisions of the program Standard Operating Protocol (SOP). Subsequent to the Council meeting, a private Board vote was virtually conducted by the Council to change the program SOP to annually award at least two scholarships. During the virtual vote, the Board also voted to establish the second annual scholarship in honor of LTC Lessie Griffith, USA, (Ret) and 1SG Robert Griffith, USA, (Ret).
The Lieutenant Colonel Marvin T. Stewart Memorial Scholarship
LTC Stewart was a long-time friend, Council member and Council Treasurer at the time of his death on 28 June 1999. He was a member and Past President of the Acadiana Chapter (MOAA) from Lafayette, Louisiana. He served as an engineer in the U.S. Army Signal Corps during World War II in the South Pacific. Later, he was an electrical engineer in Industrial Control for Westinghouse Corporation in St. Louis, Missouri until retiring in 1974. After retiring, he later returned to Lafayette where he lived for 23 years preceding his death.
The Lieutenant Colonel Lessie and Robert Griffith Academic Excellence Scholarship
The Griffith’s provided extensive and selfless support and service to their MOAA Chapter and the state Council over decades of volunteer time. Robert became an Honorary Member of the Council and was also appointed as a Council Director in 2023. As Chair of the Scholarship Program, Lessie devoted years and untold hours to growing and expanding the Council’s scholarship program – singularly guiding it to a point where a second, and sometimes third or fourth, scholarship offering was supported.