John L. Parish Sr. was born in Grinnell, Iowa, in 1937. While at Vanderbilt University, he was a member of the ODK Honor Society, elected as a Distinguished Military Student, served as Sigma Chi president and received the Significant Sig Award. John graduated in 1959, with a bachelor’s degree in science. John is the former owner of Worth Inc. (America’s baseball/softball company). He served on the board of directors for the Tennessee Business Roundtable and was elected as the Tennessee Business Ambassador of the Year in 1989. John was the former Commissioner for the Tennessee Higher Education Commission, served on the board, as vice chairman and president for the Vanderbilt Alumni Association, and served on the Vanderbilt University Board of Trustees for two years. Currently, John is board chair for the Beechcraft Heritage Museum and a president’s council member for The Wilderness Society.