Rutherford Awarded Taylor Moore Scholarship at NAHS

RJ Rutherford was awarded the Taylor Moore Memorial Scholarship at the New Albany High School graduation ceremony on May 17, 2019. The $5,000 competitive scholarship is given each year to a deserving NAHS student who plans to attend college in Mississippi. The scholarship selection process includes criteria relating to character, GPA, extracurricular activities, written essay, and an interview by a selection committee.

RJ is the son of Beverly and Ross Rutherford, Sr. He plans to attend Mississippi State University this fall and major in Pharmaceutical Chemistry and minor in Communications with a concentration in Musical Theater.

An honors graduate, Rutherford was elected to the 2019 New Albany High School Hall of Fame. He was a member of the National Honor Society, Mu Alpha Theta, and Junior Civitan. Rutherford was also involved with the School Musical. He was a member of the Union County Leadership Academy and a 2018 Boys State Delegate. At NAHS, he was a three-sport athlete, participating in cross country, track, and bowling.

The Taylor Moore Scholarship was established by Bobby and Minerva Moore in memory of their son, who died in 2000. Taylor Moore was a 1988 honor graduate of W.P. Daniel High School. He was Mr. DHS, Most Popular, Most Dignified, and Class Favorite and was active in student government. Moore played first base for the DHS baseball team, and received numerous academic honors. He went on to receive his bachelors and masters degrees in business administration from Mississippi State University.

The scholarship established in his memory has been awarded for fifteen years to outstanding graduates of New Albany High School. Past recipients of the Taylor Moore Scholarship are Stacy Stepp, Darden Holmes, Kyle Kimbrough, Ivy Lauren Williams, Kyle Hickey, Callie Creekmore, Taylor Goode, Josh Creekmore, Olivia Dunnam, Lauren Cavender, Jack Hickey, Meghan Van, Sam Cagle, and Joseph Rutherford.