Bluff City Resident Wins Top Chick-fil-A Scholarship

Bluff City resident, Morgan Jones, has been selected to receive the 2009 S. Truett Cathy Scholar Award, one of only 25 Chick-fil-A restaurant team members from across the country winning the chain’s top scholarship award.

The scholarship, named for Chick-fil-A, Inc. founder S. Truett Cathy and first awarded in 1997, honors restaurant team members attending college who have achieved personal excellence in high school or collegiate academics, employment, community service and leadership.

Jones was among the nearly 1,400 recipients of Chick-fil-A’s Leadership Scholarship in 2008. From that group, a blue ribbon panel of community leaders in Atlanta carefully considered candidates from the entire scholarship pool and selected 25 recipients for this special award which provides a second $1,000 scholarship.

“Encouraging and helping our team members to continue their education has been a priority for me since I opened the first Chick-fil-A restaurant more than 41 years ago,” said Cathy. “In these challenging economic times, we’re thrilled to be able to help Morgan and the other 24 recipients reach their academic goals. They epitomize the work ethic, dedication and customer service that we believe typify our more than 50,000 restaurant team members across the country.”

Jones has worked for more than four years at Chick-fil-A’s Bristol location where she is the first student to receive the S. Truett Cathy Award. Jones is studying business at East Tennessee State University, Johnson City. She is a 2008 graduate of Sullivan East High School, Bluff City, where she was a member of the National Honor Society and the BETA, DECA and FBLA clubs. She also volunteered with Special Olympics, Queen of Hearts and special events at nursing homes and children’s organizations.

“Morgan truly represents qualities the S. Truett Cathy Scholar Award was created to honor,” said Parlier. “She is an exemplary team member whose strong leadership skills and exceptional customer service make her a valuable asset to our restaurant and the community.”

Chick-fil-A’s franchised Operators, which include many former Leadership Scholarship and S. Truett Cathy Scholarship Award winners, serve as mentors to the dozens of team members they employ at the more than 1,440 Chick-fil-A restaurants nationwide. A visible and constant presence in the restaurants, Chick-fil-A Operators work to create an environment that fosters development of key character traits such as a strong work ethic, goal-setting, integrity, service and leadership.

The S. Truett Cathy Scholar Award, created in 1996 to celebrate Chick-fil-A’s 25 years of awarding scholarships, has awarded $325,000 in scholarship funds to previous Leadership Scholarship recipients. Founded in 1973, the Leadership Scholarship program at Chick-fil-A has awarded nearly $25 million in the $1,000 scholarships.  It is also projected that Chick-fil-A scholarship recipients have attended one of more than 2,500 institutions across the country.