Scholarship Criteria:
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Graduate of a Greenup High School, Co. KY or any Scioto Co. HS, OH
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GPA of 3.0 or higher
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Must attend Shawnee State University
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Pursuing a degree the field of Nursing
The Scioto Foundation is pleased to announce the creation of the Richard and Melinda (Mamie) McNeer Snook Nursing Scholarship. The new scholarship will benefit students who attend Shawnee State University to earn a two (ADN) or four (BSN) year degree in nursing.
Applicants must be graduates of Scioto County or Greenup County, Kentucky, high schools and maintain a 3.0 GPA on a scale of 4.0. The Scioto Foundation volunteer scholarship committee will make annual scholarship selections.
Both Rich and Mamie Snook were born and raised in Portsmouth and graduated from Portsmouth High School. The couple say they love this community and are so pleased to see the latest area developments especially in the Boneyfiddle area.
Mamie earned a nursing diploma from Holzer Medical Clinic in Gallipolis, and went on to attain a BSN degree in Nursing from Ohio University and a Master’s Degree as an Adult Nurse Practitioner from The Ohio State University. In March 2019 she will have worked in the nursing profession at Southern Ohio Medical Center (SOMC) for 40 years and has a 45 year career in nursing. For the past 5 years she has been a nurse practitioner in the Sleep Medicine Department at SOMC. She also served as a nurse practitioner in Primary Care and Cardiology. She has been an Adult Nurse Practitioner for 19 years.
“Nursing is very close to my heart, said Mamie. I have always wanted to be a nurse for as long as I can remember.”
After high school, Rich served in the U.S. Marines for two years including duty in Vietnam. When he returned home he attended the Portsmouth Interstate Business College studying business administration and continued courses in the fine arts and business at Shawnee State University on the G.I. Bill. He worked for the railroad and at Detroit Steel Mill and did construction on the side. When the mill closed, he developed his own business in residential and commercial renovations.
The Snooks are members of Temple Baptist Church and have been active as volunteers in the community. Mamie has helped to place flags at Greenlawn Cemetery for Memorial Day and worked with the “Friends of Greenlawn” in painting the cemetery fence. She also enjoys volunteering with Sue Burke and Main Street Portsmouth, in planting flowers in the downtown area.
In explaining their desire to establish the new scholarship fund Rich and Mamie said, “Education is important no matter what your future direction will be. It is everybody’s future.”
“I was one of five children and my Mother instilled the importance of education in all of us,” Mamie commented.
“Education is power; it’s the avenue to accomplishing your dreams,” she continued. “Rich and I wanted to give back to the community that has been so gracious to us and to support our local university. SOMC is committed in helping their employees to obtain their education dreams and I was so fortunate to receive assistance from SOMC to further my education.”
The Snooks have one son, Brad, and one granddaughter, Brittany, who will graduate from Kent State with a BSN degree in nursing next spring, carrying on the nursing tradition in the family.