ELLISVILLE – Hundreds of Jones County Junior College alumni gathered recently for Jones College’s Homecoming Luncheon which honored several alumni for various accomplishments. During that event, the Alumni Association of Phi Theta Kappa’s International Honor Society, Rho Sigma Chapter bestowed a unique award to one of its members, a 1970 JCJC graduate from Clara, Sara Smith Landrum. She was the first of the recently formed Alumni Chapter of PTK at Jones College to receive the honor of, “PTK Alumnus of the Year.”
“The activities and projects I participated in while in PTK broadened my knowledge of working with others of academic excellence,” said Landrum. “When current PTK Advisor at Jones College, Mark Brown expressed his desire to contact former members and to learn about the early days of the Rho Sigma Chapter of Phi Theta Kappa, I knew that I could help him, thanks to information that I had noted in my 1968-69 and 1969-70 yearbooks, The Lair.
Brown described Landrum’s work as invaluable. Building the JC database is just one of the many reasons she earned the first honor bestowed to an alumnus of the recently formed Alumni chapter of PTK at Jones College.
“She has been integral in helping us contact past members from that time. The Phi Theta Kappa International Office maintains a database going decades into the past but much of the information is outdated. Most of the PTK members before 2000, do not have email addresses. Ms. Landrum has been instrumental in providing contact information for numerous past members and helped us develop our database at JC.” explained Brown. “Sara has continually been supportive of our efforts to develop a Jones College Phi Theta Kappa Alumni Association.”
Returning to the Ellisville campus for Homecoming recently was an eye-opening event for “Sara from Clara,” as she is affectionately known to many.
“Homecoming weekend was thrilling, walking on a completely different campus compared to my memories of 53 years ago. I’ve always considered my two years at Jones to be the happiest time of my educational career.”
The Wayne County native earned the title of Valedictorian of the Clara High School class of 1968. Living in the Strengthford Community allowed Sara to live at home and take the Jones County Junior College bus to Ellisville. She shared, “JCJC was a gift to the community. I could ride the JCJC bus that originated in Clara, just like my older brother Al Smith (1967), and my siblings, Dan Smith (1975), and Syble Smith Courtney (1979).”
While at JCJC, Sara continued to earn accolades as she actively engaged in academics and related organizations on campus. She joined the first chapter of Phi Theta Kappa International Honor Society at Jones College, serving as the first secretary of PTK. Coming from a family that encouraged, promoted, and even pushed education, it’s not a surprise she thrived and earned many honors and leadership opportunities. In addition to her PTK responsibilities, Landrum also served as President of the National Student Education Association and was a member of the Executive Committee of the Mississippi Student Education Association. She was named to the “Hall of Fame” in the JCJC Yearbook for Academic Excellence. She also received the Letter “J” Award for maintaining Honor Roll and President’s Lists and she was the recipient of the Robert H. McFarland Scholarship. Landrum was also honored for having the highest average of all the female JCJC students graduating in 1970.
While serving on NSEA, Sara was inspired by the NSEA advisor and her biology teacher, Shelby Price to major in biology. She continued her education at Lee University in Cleveland, Tennessee where she was a member of the academic honors organization, Alpha Chi. She graduated summa cum laude in 1972 and returned to Clara to teach biology and chemistry at Clara High School.
Landrum began her education as a first grader at Strengthford School before it consolidated to become Clara School in 1957. Much to her dismay, there was never a reunion until it became a “burning desire in her heart” to organize the first Strengthford School Reunion in 2004, which brought 329 people from nine states to the gathering. Landrum spearheaded the reunions which were held every year except in 2020, when Covid canceled everything.
“Having a teacher’s heart is all about helping others. I find that the Strengthford School Reunions are fulfilling to me because old friends have reunited after many years of being apart. The happiness and joy in their faces brings me great satisfaction.”
Her husband of 53 years, Albert Landrum also graduated from Clara as did their daughter, Melody. Their two grandsons are currently at Clara Elementary School. In her spare time, Sara serves as the pianist/organist, Bible School teacher, and Sunday School teacher at Clara Church of God.
