Fanning memorial to assist students

MURFREESBORO — By all accounts, she had a deep passion to fly. Family and friends of Middle Tennessee State University alumna and UPS pilot Shanda Carney Fanning want to honor that passion by establishing a scholarship in her memory.

A Lynchburg resident and Shelbyville native, Fanning, 37, was one of two pilots killed Aug. 14 when their United Parcel Service airplane crashed in Birmingham, Ala.

Like many, best friend Whitney Dix, also a pilot and currently a dispatch manager with Southwest Airlines in Texas, was devastated by Fanning’s death. But Dix is determined to keep her memory alive by spearheading a drive to establish a scholarship at their alma mater — The Shanda Carney Fanning Aviation Memorial Scholarship.

Fanning graduated from Shelbyville High School before going on to earn her bachelor’s degree in aerospace administration from MTSU in 1999. Her husband, Brett, works in distribution at the Jack Daniels Distillery in Lynchburg.

“I want to give back to the aviation community and keep her memory and love of aviation alive,” Dix said in a release.

Amy Hardin, development director with the MTSU College of Basic and Applied Sciences, explained that a minimum of $25,000 must be raised to endow the scholarship, which would be awarded annually to aviation students studying within MTSU’s nationally known aerospace program.

More information about the scholarship is available at www.mtsu.edu/fanningscholarship.

Original Article:   http://www.dnj.com