Mary Lou Southern Memorial Achievement Scholarship

Established by Ms. Southern’s children, Carole Southern Crosslin and Steven Dennis Southern, in 2021. She was a gifted student and graduated at the top of her class at Mineral Springs High School. Ms. Southern’s family did not have the means – nor did she have the support to find the resources – to attend college. Yet, after joining R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company’s corporate office, she shattered the “glass ceiling” (before it was even named such) by becoming the company’s first female manager in the late 1960s, paving the way for other female leaders behind her.