A house RESOLUTION

to recognize and honor Coach Chuck Parker of anderson county for being named to the class of 2024 for the South Carolina Athletic Coaches Association Hall of Fame.

Whereas, the South Carolina House of Representatives is delighted to learn that Chuck Parker, a former cross country and track and field coach at T.L. Hanna High School, has been named to the South Carolina Athletic Coaches Association (SCACA) Hall of Fame for the Class of 2024. The SCACA is the principal advocate and leadership organization for high school coaches in the Palmetto State; and

Whereas, born in Lancaster in 1949, Chuck Parker graduated from Buford High School and earned a bachelor's degree from the University of South Carolina and a master's degree in education from The Citadel. He began his career coaching high school cross country and track and field athletes at R.B. Stall High School in North Charleston from 1973 to 1976; and

Whereas, he coached at the college level for five years in the late 1970s and early 1980s at The Citadel and Baptist College, now Charleston Southern University, before returning to high school athletics in 1986, coaching teams at T.L. Hanna High School for twenty-seven years, including girls track and field from 1986 to 2001, boys track and field from 1994 to 2001, girls cross country from 1987 to 2013, and boys cross country from 1994 to 2011; and

Whereas, in a forty-year career as a cross country and track and field coach in the Palmetto State, three decades of which he dedicated to coaching in the high school ranks, his teams have won four state titles, two in girls track (1994, 1995) and two in girls cross country (1993, 1994) and have been the state runner-up six times, twice each in girls track (1987, 1995), boys track (1974, 1995), and girls cross country (1992, 1995). Over the course of his career, Coach Parker has been honored as South Carolina State Coach of the Year seven times and Region Coach of the Year thirty-one times; and

Whereas, at R.B. Stall High School, Coach Parker was instrumental in getting high school cross country started in and around Charleston and is known as the "father of high school cross country" in the greater Charleston area. While coaching at T.L. Hanna, the girls cross country team was ranked the twenty-first best girls cross country team in the United States in 1993, the same year the team accomplished a 15-point perfect score at the AAA State Championship meet, and the twenty-fourth best in 1994. During the 2003 and 2004 cross country seasons, his cross country program at T.L. Hanna attracted national media recognition from Sports Illustrated, ESPN, SCETV, CBS, NBC, ABC, among others, for their relationship with Ben Comen, a team member who had a disability; and

Whereas, Coach Parker's combined record for cross country and track and field for nearly two generations of girls and boys teams is an impressive 908-122. Numerous athletes coached by Coach Parker went on to compete at the collegiate level, and all benefited from valuable life lessons that undoubtedly served them well off the field of competition; and

Whereas, when Coach Parker retired as a teacher, he served as the Anderson School District 5 physical education coordinator for K-12 and as the middle school director of the South Carolina Association of Physical Education and Sport. While juggling coaching duties, he found time to serve as the huddle leader for the Fellowship of Christian Athletes (FCA) and as a member of the Foothills FCA Board of Directors from 2010 to 2011. He also has volunteered at the Anderson YMCA for nearly four decades; and

Whereas, dedicated to his profession, he has been a member of SCACA for forty-nine years and a member of the South Carolina Track and Cross Country Coaches Association for forty-eight years; and

Whereas, the South Carolina House of Representatives values the pride and recognition that Chuck Parker has brought to his school and to the Palmetto State and for the young people he has helped to accomplish outstanding feats in preparation for lives as productive citizens. Now, therefore,

Be it resolved by the House of Representatives:

That the members of the South Carolina House of Representatives, by this resolution, recognize and honor Coach Chuck Parker of Anderson County on being named to the Class of 2024 for the South Carolina Athletic Coaches Association Hall of Fame.

Be it further resolved that a copy of this resolution be presented to Coach Chuck Parker.

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