The late Loran Johnson influenced the lives of several generations of young boys growing up in rural Bradley County.
   
   One of those boys grew up to become the owner of one of the largest shipyards on the Mississippi River. D. John Nichols of Greenville, Miss., is one of “Loran’s Boys,” a group of current and former Bradley County residents who established an endowed scholarship fund to honor their former vocational agriculture teacher at Warren High School.
   
   Nichols recently made the largest single contribution to the fund, a $100,000 donation, which he presented to the UAM Foundation Fund to be added to the Loran L.  Johnson Endowed Scholarship.
   
   Nichols is the owner of Mississippi Marine Corporation, a 37-acre shipyard on the eastern shore of Lake Ferguson, a backwater lake that opens onto the Mississippi River. His shipyard includes warehouses and dry docks that service and repair the barges and tugs that work the Mississippi. Nichols also owns Nichols Marine, LLC, a holding company that manages marine equipment and timber in Bradley County as well as Greenville Marine, a real estate business.
   
   Nichols was named UAM’s 46th Distinguished Alumnus and was honored at the university’s graduation ceremony in May.
   
   “This is a wonderful gesture by a man who has a great love for this institution and what it stands for,” Chancellor Jack Lassiter said. “It is also a reflection of the respect and admiration he has always held for Loran Johnson, who was such a positive influence on the lives of his students. D. John Nichols received an opportunity for a better life at this school and now he is guaranteeing opportunities for deserving young people for generations to come.”
   
   The Loran L. Johnson Endowed Scholarship was created to honor the long-time teacher and founder of the Bradley County Pink Tomato Festival.