THS assistant principal gets championship ring

RUSSELLVILLE — Tharptown High School’s faculty surprised Assistant Principal Sherry Parker with a championship ring recognizing her role on the 1981 Vina High School girls’ basketball state championship team. Dr. Tyler Berryman, principal of THS, organized the presentation after learning Parker never got a ring when the team won the title. Faculty members pooled their money to purchase the ring and presented it to Parker during a small gathering at the school.

Berryman said the idea began in early fall when he asked Parker about her championship ring out of curiosity.

“I know how important state championships are and what they mean to folks,” Berryman said. “When I asked her about it, she told me her family couldn’t afford one back then and that she had always wanted one but never had one. I ran it by the faculty, and they were on board. We all pitched in and made it happen.”

Parker, now in her ninth year at Tharptown High School, played post as a senior on the 1981 Vina girls team, which captured the state title after years of steady improvement.

She said she began playing basketball in seventh grade and watched the program grow season by season.

“We didn’t win a game in seventh grade,” Parker said. “In eighth grade, we won about half. By ninth grade, we went undefeated. In10th and 11th grade, we would get to the area tournament and lose to teams that would go on to win state.”

That changed in 1981 when Vina defeated Hazelwood by one point in the area tournament before advancing to Birmingham.

“Our chant was ‘Bound for Birmingham,’” Parker said. “We went down there and played two or three games and ended up winning it all.”

Former teammate Lynn Childers said Parker led by example and set the tone for younger players.

“She was a great leader at all times,” Childers said. “Very focused, very driven and a good teammate to look up to. She and the other seniors were the backbone of that team and showed the rest of us what it took to get there.”

Childers, who played that season as a freshman, said the team exceeded expectations and brought pride to the community.

“We weren’t really on the radar,” she said. “The team just jelled at the right time. It meant a lot to the school and the community.”

Parker said championship rings were not common or affordable when the team won the title. Instead, the booster club provided necklaces and bracelets to commemorate the season.

“At the time, rings were expensive, and we didn’t do it,” Parker said. “It just wasn’t something we thought about.”

Parker’s niece, Charla Lucas, a pre-K teacher at Tharptown Elementary School, said the presentation stirred emotion for the family.

“It’s been a long time coming,” Lucas said. “Back then, a championship ring wasn’t a necessity. They were just proud and honored to win the state championship.”

Berryman said Parker still carries the mindset of a champion in her work as an administrator.

“She has outstanding character and outstanding work ethic,” he said. “She’s tough on students and tough on teachers, but it’s all for the right reasons. She’s tough on herself, too.” He pointed to faculty T-shirts Parker designed earlier this year that read “Small town, big pride.”

“She loves this community, she loves these students, and she holds them accountable because she cares,” Berryman said.

For Parker, the ring represents both a defining moment and a reminder of the people who supported her then and now.

“When you’re a teenager, you don’t always realize how big something like that is,” Parker said. “As you get older, you realize not everyone gets to say they won a state championship.”