Archives
 By  Staff Reports Published 
7:46 am Tuesday, June 3, 2003

Music club establishes MCC scholarship

By By Ashley McPhearson and Anna Wright / staff writers
May 30, 2003
The Matinee Philharmonic Club presented a $19,000 check to Meridian Community College Thursday to fund a scholarship named for the founders of the city's two oldest music clubs Mattie D. Hart and Emma Donald.
The club is a merger of the Matinee Club and the Philharmonic Club.
Members made their presentation to MCC President Dr. Scott Elliott and Kathy Brookshire, director of institutional development. The scholarship will be awarded to music students.
The two clubs that merged to form the Matinee Philharmonic Club saved money for more than 20 years, and then pooled their resources about two years ago when the clubs merged due to dwindling membership.
The scholarship will be named the Mattie D. Hart-Emma Donald Music Scholarship in honor of the ladies who founded the parent clubs.
Mattie D. Hart founded the Matinee Club and Meridian School of Music, formerly located at the corner of 28th Avenue and Ninth Street. The school was open to student for about 60 years.
Emma Donald was a soloist in various churches for more than 50 years and founded the Philharmonic Club.
Elliott accepted the check on behalf of MCC's board of trustees and the MCC Foundation.

Also on Franklin County Times
Rural hospitals face challenges: New state tax credit could help
Main, News, Russellville, ...
María Camp maria.camp@franklincountytimes.com 
January 28, 2026
RUSSELLVILLE — Franklin County’s two hospitals face the same financial pressures confronting rural health care across Alabama even as they remain esse...
Phil Campbell gets ‘clean opinion’ on audit
Main, News, Phil Campbell, ...
María Camp maria.camp@franklincountytimes.com 
January 28, 2026
PHIL CAMPBELL — Certified public accountant Don Wallace told town council members on Jan. 20 there were no problems with this year’s audit. “This is w...
MLK’s legacy: Blueprint we must follow
Main, News, Russellville, ...
María Camp maria.camp@franklincountytimes.com 
January 28, 2026
RUSSELLVILLE — Rev. Bennie “B.J.” Bonner stood before an audience gathered Jan. 19 for the Martin Luther King Jr. Commemoration March and described ho...
Elementary students begin Super Citizen program
News, Russellville
María Camp maria.camp@franklincountytimes.com 
January 28, 2026
Second and third graders from West Elementary and Russellville Elementary began Liberty Learning Foundation’s Super Citizen program during an event ki...
Book Lovers Study Club explores tea’s role in history
Columnists, News, Opinion
HERE AND NOW
January 28, 2026
Our Book Lovers Study Club’s January meeting highlighted both the Boston Tea Party boycott of English tea and the traditions of afternoon tea. One of ...
Moving from excuses to action in 1 year
Columnists, Opinion
January 28, 2026
In just 12 months, the Trump administration has delivered real results that Americans can see in their daily lives by restoring law and order at our b...
Higgins hired as RHS football coach
High School Sports, Russellville Golden Tigers, Sports
María Camp maria.camp@franklincountytimes.com 
January 28, 2026
RUSSELLVILLE — Darrell Higgins has been hired as the new head football coach at Russellville High School. His hiring was announced Saturday following ...
Seal retires from CB&S after 31 years
News, Russellville
María Camp maria.camp@franklincountytimes.com 
January 28, 2026
RUSSELLVILLE — Following a 31-year career at CB&S Bank, Beverly Seal is now retired and looking forward to what comes next. While she’s still explorin...

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *