AWARD -- Tina Parks

By Rudy Coggins
Published in Sports on May 30, 2017 6:56 AM

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UMO Media Relations

HIGH POINT -- Tina Parks, an administrative assistant at the University of Mount Olive, recently received a Milestone Award during the second annual Conference Carolinas Legends of the Game banquet.

This year's ceremony honored three individuals -- Parks, Barton's Todd Wilkinson and Lees-McRae's Rita Smith -- who have provided immense service to their respective institutions over the years.

The 2017 class earned either the Milestone Award or Legend of the Game Award to commemorate their careers. The Milestone Award recognizes an administrator that has at least 15 years of service in collegiate athletics, while the Legend of the Game Award is given to an administrator with 30-plus years of service.

Parks has been involved in collegiate athletics for two-plus decades and began her career at UMO in 1995.

"It means a lot to me being honored with this award," Parks said. "I've had the chance to work with a great coaching staff as well as administrators in my almost 22 years here. However, the most advantageous part of my job has been the ability to watch the student-athletes from all over the world come in and grow in their talents.

"I look forward to a few more years at UMO."

Parks prepares and distributes all national letters-of-intent and scholarships on all student-athletes. She is directly involved in working with the athletic training staff to ensure that the student-athletes complete necessary physical and insurance paperwork each year.

She also coordinates transportation for all of UMO's teams.

Parks serves as an assistant to both the athletics director and compliance officer, and addresses a variety of needs in their respective areas. She oversees ticket sales during home games as well as any conference or regional tournaments host by the university.

"Tina started working at the school in 1995 as a part-time secretary almost 22 years ago and has been instrumental to our growth and success over that period," said Jeff Eisen, vice president of UMO athletics. "She's now our office manager and the 'go-to' person in our department. We are fortunate to have some as experienced and knowledgeable as her working with us."

Parks joins UMO head baseball coach Carl Lancaster, who was honored with the Legend of the Game Award in 2016, as the Trojans' two award recipients since the awards were introduced in 2016.