In the month and a half since Sonny Montgomery Day at Mississippi State University and the Student Association’s announcement of their plans for a life-size bronze statue as a to tribute the alumnus and former congressman, the group has raised $26,000 of their $66,000 goal.
The focus of the fund raising up to this point has primarily been toward people who have had some kind of relationship with Montgomery in the past, SA Assistant Chief of Staff Brian Freedman said.
“We’ve mostly been getting donations from alums and people who personally knew him either through school or work,” Freedman said. “Most have worked with him in some way, and the ROTC has been very supportive.”
SA Sen. Edward Sanders recently interned with the House of Representatives Committee on Veterans’ Affairs, a committee Montgomery chaired for several years. He said from his experience that many of the people who have worked with Montgomery look up to him.
“Every time he walked down the halls everyone around would talk to him,” Sanders said. “People there even call him the ‘grandfather of Congress.'”
Montgomery is best known as the architect of the Montgomery GI Bill. His legislative achievements for retired military personnel are so extensive that Montgomery is known as “Mr. Veteran” on Capitol Hill.
“Sonny Montgomery is a perfect guide for how to have an amazing political career,” Freedman said.
Some say Montgomery began his political career at MSU, through being elected SA president and Mr. MSU, Freeman added.
“While he was in Congress he made a huge impact on the lives of many people,” Freedman said. “He has given MSU something to be proud of and given a lot directly to the school.”
The statue, which will be placed between McCool Hall and Allen Hall, will be designed by Robert and Tracy Sugg.
“Robert works more on the business and negotiating side, while his wife, Tracy, is the sculptor,” Freedman said.
Previous sculptures from the Sugg team have been displayed in the Russell Senate Building in Washington D.C.
Several companies were considered for the project, but the final decision to choose the Suggs came down to looking at previous samples and determining the best price while maintaining top quality, Sanders said.
“They basically offered us the best sculptor at a reasonable rate,” Sanders said.
People who donate $2,500 or more can have their name placed on the base of the statue.
The SA has a portion of its Web site devoted to the project at www.sa.msstate.edu/sonny/. The site contains information from SA President Josh Blades and MSU President J. Charles Lee, as well as a short biography of Montgomery and diagram to show the status of the funds toward the statue.
The SA encourages anyone who would like to make a donation to do so, but they also encourage students to spread the word about the project.
“It’s important to honor distinguished alumni from MSU,” Sanders said. “Anyone who knows people who might be interested in the project and might donate should tell them about it.”