THE SCHOLARSHIP
The Montgomery County Farm Bureau and the Robert T. Mangum Family established “The Robert T. Mangum Memorial Scholarship Fund” in 2004 to honor Montgomery County businessman, Bob Mangum for his dedicated service to the agricultural industry, the community, and to horticultural/agricultural education.  The scholarship, one award in the amount of two thousand dollars ($2000), is given to an undergraduate or graduate student majoring in horticulture, agriculture, plant science or a related field in a Maryland two-year or four-year educational institution. The Scholarship is designed to assist students who have demonstrated character, scholarship & talent and who are interested in pursuing an education and eventual career in the Maryland agricultural or plant related industries.   

BACKGROUND
Mr. Mangum was involved with Montgomery County Farm Bureau for many years and served on the Board of Directors.  Mr. Mangum was  a  pioneer in the business of interior landscaping and ornamental horticulture. He began his career in the 1950’s when he purchased Bell Flowers in Silver Spring, Maryland.  He expanded his floral operations and in the late 1970s became one of the first in the country to successfully develop an interior landscape business, which grew to several hundred employees serving thousands of clients including shopping malls, office buildings and fine hotels in the Washington DC metropolitan area.  In the mid-1980s, Mr. Mangum started Bell Nursery, a greenhouse and ornamental crop growing operation based in Burtonsville, MD.  Mr. Mangum’s businesses, Bell Flowers & Bell Nursery, which today continue under the stewardship of his sons, are well-known for dedication to quality, innovative plant products and a pioneering business practice that serves as a model for ornamental crop growers and other industry professionals around the country.