BATON ROUGE — The Press Club of Baton Rouge has named its newly established journalism scholarship after longtime member and newly retired treasurer, John Hightower.

The annual $1,000 scholarship for journalism students at the LSU Manship School of Mass Communication and the Southern University Department of Mass Communication is now the John Hightower Press Club Scholarship.

The first two $1,000 scholarships were awarded earlier this year, and the hope is to award at least one $1,000 scholarship annually as funds become available.

Hightower has been a dedicated supporter of the Press Club since its beginning in 1969, when he started attending as a student. He has since been a dues-paying member for more than five decades and has served the club as president, secretary, and treasurer—a post he was elected to in 2013.

Contributions can be made to the scholarship fund via check to Press Club of Baton Rouge, P.O. Box 1747, Baton Rouge, La. 70821 or by credit card or cash at a Press Club meeting.