The Melvin A Burruss Memorial Scholarship is awarded annually by the Louisa County Democratic Committee. A Burruss scholarship of at least $1,000 will be awarded to one or more graduating seniors in 2026 who plan to continue their post-graduate education.
Melvin A. Burruss was part of the Burruss Family, a foundational family in Louisa County for over one hundred years. The family moved to Connecticut but Melvin and his wife, Diana, returned to Virginia and to the family land and home to live out their retirement. Melvin was an activist and a valuable addition to local community organizations.
As a retired attorney in Charlottesville, Melvin helped folks working on bankruptcy issues. He hosted a television show “The Neighborhood Law Center” on the public television channel in Charlottesville. He sat on several commissions and boards in Louisa County, including the Broadband Commission as the Chair , and helped Louisa County get Broadband in the County.
He joined the local and state NAACP (later as a Board member) and the local Democratic Party (as a Board Member. He joined Louisa and Charlottesville Chambers of Commerce and other local organizations that built community, like the Louisa Arts Center. He was a veteran and a member of the Mineral VFW Post 8947. He helped found Louisa United, an organization that works with local government agencies and schools to promote fairness and diversity in hiring practices in local government, education and law enforcement.
Melvin Burruss was a life-long activist and worked to make things better for the community, for the state, for the nation and for all of us. He was always reaching out and trying to make a change for good.
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