Bonham, Texas – The 2025 Sam Rayburn Foundation scholarship program granted scholarships totaling $11,000 to area students from Fannin County. The Rayburn Foundation was established in 1949 by Speaker Sam Rayburn for the purposes of administering the Sam Rayburn Library and did so until the property was transferred to the University of Texas at Austin in 1991.
Since that time, the Foundation’s primary role is administering the scholarship program. This year, the Rayburn Foundation awarded two different scholarships to ten graduating seniors.
The J.F. and Majorie McKnight scholarship was established in 1992, when Majorie McKnight endowed a scholarship for seniors graduating from Bonham High School. The McKnights operated McKnight Rexall Drug, which became a popular hangout for children of all ages, thanks in part to the “modern” soda fountain. Having no children of their own, the McKnights felt a scholarship was the best legacy they could leave to the school children of Bonham, which they had enjoyed serving for so many years. The McKnight scholarship has awarded over $50,000 since its inception. This year’s recipient of the McKnight scholarship is Matthew Stephenson.
The HG Dulaney scholarship was established in 2005 by Dee J. Kelly, a prominent Ft. Worth attorney and former employee of Speaker Rayburn. Named in honor of the long-time Director of the Sam Rayburn Library, the Dulaney scholarship is awarded to graduating seniors from Ector, Savoy, Dodd City, and Sam Rayburn High Schools. Since first being awarded in 2005, the Dulaney scholarship has granted more than $80,000 in scholarships.
Ector High School
This year’s recipients are Katie Ferguson, Jackson Neely, Alexis Dudley and Caylee Mills from Dodd City High School; Kylie Clark, Abbey Brewer and Jazmin Delgado from Sam Rayburn High School; and Christian Laymance and Julia Bailey from Ector High School.
The Sam Rayburn Foundation scholarship program is overseen by the Sam Rayburn Museum. For more information on the scholarship program, please contact the Sam Rayburn Museum at 903-583-2455 or by email, rayburn@austin.utexas.edu.
