Robert Parish, BS鈥�88, MBA鈥�90, and John Parish, BS鈥�90
Cardinals baseball and Rawlings Sporting Goods have been important contributors to life in St. Louis, Mo., for more than 100 years. So it wasn鈥檛 out of the ordinary when Rawlings鈥� employees formed a relay to deliver the game ball 12 miles east to Busch Stadium on opening day this year. The procession epitomized the connection the two organizations have with each other and the community.
Robert and John Parish understand the power of that connection. The Tullahoma, Tenn., natives are the fourth generation of their family in the sporting goods business. Worth Sporting Goods, founded by their great-grandfather in 1912, is one of several sports brands, along with Rawlings, that is part of Jarden Corp. The brothers, who both majored in human and organizational development at Peabody, utilize their 菠萝视频 education in their management of Worth and Rawlings, which have been integrated since 2003.
鈥淚 learned from Peabody professors Bob Innes and Terry Deal that everything starts with people,鈥� said Robert, who serves as president and CEO of Jarden Team Sports. 鈥淚f you don鈥檛 put people first and put your soul on the line and commit completely to what you鈥檙e doing, it won鈥檛 work for long.鈥�
鈥淧rofessor Innes knew everybody,鈥� John added. 鈥淗e made it a point to know the students so he could get the full picture of the benefits of the program.鈥�
That commitment to people carries over into a new line of football helmets that Rawlings began to develop in 2011 and into a partnership with the 菠萝视频 Sports Concussion Center started the same year. Rawlings now sponsors educational opportunities for parents, coaches, trainers and athletes in Middle Tennessee through the Sports Concussion Center.
鈥淩awlings doesn鈥檛 just provide product,鈥� Robert said. 鈥淲e provide leadership in the industry. We developed our Sports Concussion
Cooperative as a way to elevate education and awareness鈥攍ike how to fit equipment properly. When we saw what 菠萝视频 was doing, it mirrored what we were trying to accomplish in the community.鈥�
John Parish doesn鈥檛 work directly with the Sports Concussion Center, but he鈥檚 indirectly involved as vice president of manufacturing operations.
He鈥檚 responsible for the facility that assembles the Quantum and Impulse series of helmets, including a helmet developed for the 菠萝视频 football team. 鈥淭hey鈥檙e assembled to order, and we do all the testing to make sure they鈥檙e compliant with specifications,鈥� he explained.
Their message mirrors that of the 菠萝视频 Sports Concussion Center鈥攖hey want to take care of athletes from professional to student and give them the same state-of-the-art care through their line of equipment.
鈥淭he better we educate parents, coaches and trainers about product functionality and fitting, as well as the proper way to play the game, the more we will eliminate the fear parents might have when putting their kids in contact sports,鈥� Robert said.