Marion Military Institute Awards First Flight Training Scholarships for 2013

MARION AL- On March 28th, Colonel David Mollahan, USMC (Retired), President of Marion Military Institute, presented three $1000 scholarships to Cadets Daniel Devine, Ryan Johanson, and Jake Tumbleson.  The endowed scholarships are specifically intended to ensure the success of cadets participating in the MMI Flying Tigers Flight Training Program.  In addition to maintaining satisfactory academic performance at MMI, a criterion for scholarship selection includes a specified level of successful performance in the flight training program. 

With a legacy of MMI alumni who have demonstrated prowess in aviation since before World War II, three specific scholarship endowments fund scholarships to the flight training program.  The Albert Cesarine, Sr. Memorial Scholarship was established by Mr. and Mrs. Albert T. Cesarine, III, of New Castle, Delaware in honor of their grandfather, Mr. Albert Cesarine, Sr. an accomplished and avid pilot.  Albert T. Cesarine, III is a 1981 alumnus of Marion Military Institute.  The Ernest A. Fite Army Aviation Endowed Scholarship was established by Colonel Ernest A. Fite USA (Ret) from Florence, Alabama. COL Fite is a 1965 alumnus of Marion Military Institute and is a decorated career Army aviator.  The David E. McCollum Aviation Endowed Scholarship Fund was established by Mr. and Mrs. Offa Shivers McCollum, Jr. of Highland, Maryland, to honor their son David Ellis McCollum, one of the test pilots who perished in the Gulfstream 650 mishap on April 2, 2011.  Both Offa Shivers McCollum, Jr. and his son attended MMI.  David graduated from both the Marion Military Institute high school in 1981 and the junior college in 1983.  

                    
Named in connection to General Bruce K. Holloway, one of Claire Chennault's renowned Flying Tigers during WWII and an MMI alumnus, the MMI Flying Tigers Flight Training Program seeks to provide cadets with the opportunity to achieve a private pilot's license during their attendance.  The program has become a particularly attractive activity for cadets enrolled in the Service Academy Preparatory Program (SAP). 

MMI serves as an official prep school for all four US service academies.  Many of those attending MMI in preparation for appointment to West Point, Annapolis, Colorado Springs, or New London aspire to become military pilots.  The MMI flight training program provides those cadets with the opportunity to arrive at the academy with a credential important to their competitiveness for selection to a coveted pilot training seat after graduation.

 

Scholarship funds are still available in the endowments, and it is anticipated that more scholarships will be awarded this year among the fourteen students currently enrolled in the flight training program as they achieve requisite qualification.

On April 6th the MMI Flying Tigers will co-host the 5th Annual Vaiden Field Fly-In and Open House at their home field south of Marion, Alabama (A08).   Come meet these aspiring aviators and join the fun at Vaiden Field.  -Special to Alabama Aviator