Daughter Establishes MSCC Scholarship in Memory of Harold Patterson

Tabetha Patterson Bramucci of Marion has established a scholarship in memory and recognition of her father’s legacy as a successful businessman and an avid sports fan and mentor of local athletes.

The Harold Patterson Memorial Athletic Scholarship fund will support the awarding of a $500 scholarship to an MSCC student-athlete each fall and spring semester.

“My father was a very generous, giving man; he was constantly doing for others,” Bramucci said. “I want people to think about him and the good things he has done in this area, and I thought this would be a perfect way to remember him."

“He was never one to seek recognition, but he would be proud that we are giving back to those who need it, those who want to go to school but don’t have a way." Bramucci said the athletic emphasis for the scholarship is a natural fit for her father’s interest in sports and young people.

“He loved all sports,” she said. “I can’t tell you how many times we were in the yard playing basketball, baseball, football, whatever was in season. We had no grass in the front yard because there was continuously a game going on. All of the kids in the neighborhood knew they could come to our house and play."

“He coached all of us growing up, and he touched so many kids’ lives in coaching. He not only talked to them about the game; he talked to them about life lessons. He taught them how to be better people, not just better athletes."

Patterson also emphasized education at every opportunity.

“He couldn’t go to college because his family didn’t have the financial means, but education was very important to him,” Bramucci said. “He would always say, ‘You’ve got to get an education,’ so education became very important to our whole family. He expected all of his children to go to college.

Born in Sandtown, Ark., (between Batesville and Cave City), Patterson grew up in a family that faced significant financial hardships. One of nine children, he completed high school (only one other sibling managed that feat) but couldn’t take the next step.

Patterson married at the age of 20 (his wife, Lynda Sanders Patterson, was 17 and had just graduated from high school a year early). Soon after, they started a family (Tabetha was born in Batesville) and later moved to Crittenden County.

“They basically started with nothing,” Bramucci recalled. “He was mowing yards for a living when I was a baby, and they lived in Lakeshore Trailer Park."

Patterson later landed a job with a Delta (now Mapco) service station as a cashier.

“He loved it,” Bramucci said. “He was wonderful with people, and he had the intelligence, personality, and motivation to succeed. He started working his way up and became a manager, a district manager, and then an area manager. When he left Mapco, 10 years later, he was one of two Divisional Managers for the very large company."

Promotions led to numerous transfers, and the family lived in four different states during Patterson’s employment with Mapco.

Ironically, the lack of a college degree led Patterson to a greater level of success in the business arena.

“He knew they would never promote him to president because he did not have a college education,” Bramucci said. “At that time, it just did not happen, no matter how smart you were. So with the encouragement of Ness Sechrest, he started his own business in Marion. Ness encouraged him to use his intelligence and motivation to succeed for himself. It was a big risk, but from there, things took off."

On November 21, 1986, with the help of his brother Oscar, and their wives Carol and Lynda they opened their first convenience store. Patterson began building a successful business.

“The people in this area were very supportive,” Bramucci said. I think that’s one of the reasons they stayed in this area. With his business, they could have moved anywhere."

Patterson soon eclipsed his goal of operating five stores, and Flash Market and Flash Oil Company expanded into a thriving business that now encompasses more than 100 locations.

“He was such a great businessman, and my mom and dad were a great team” Bramucci said. “The business has really branched out and includes so many different facets."

Patterson’s four sons, Jamie, Shane, T.J. (who earned an Associate’s Degree in Business at MSCC), and Harold Jr., are actively involved in the family business, and his widow is continuing to guide the boys in day to day operations, Bramucci said.

She said everyone in the family, including her husband John and children Ally and Alex, are “excited about the scholarship. No one wanted Dad’s memory to die."

The Harold Patterson Memorial Athletic Scholarship, administered by the MSCC Foundation, is open to full-time students with a minimum cumulative high school or college grade-point average of 2.5. Applicants must be actively participating in an MSCC-sanctioned athletic program and must demonstrate financial need by completing a Free Application for Federal Student Aid.

To contribute to the Patterson scholarship at MSCC or to establish a new one, please contact Patti Coleman, MSCC Director of Advancement, at (870) 733-6764 or pdcoleman@midsouthcc.edu.

The Mid-South Community College Foundation, which administers more than 60 scholarships, is also offering direct on-line giving through the College’s website, www.midsouthcc.edu (click on Foundation link near the bottom of the home page and then Give Now).

The MSCC Foundation, Inc. is an independent charitable organization created to raise and oversee funds donated to MSCC in support of the college’s efforts to meet the needs of Crittenden County. It operates under a tax exempt 501(c)(3) status.