WILSON, N.C. — January 15, 2018 — Calling all tennis and Bob Dylan fans! On Tuesday, Feb. 6, Hackney Library and the Friends of Hackney Library will welcome coach, author, alumnus, and Dylan fan Tom Parham to present “Hartsock, Dylan, and 50 Years.” Parham’s conversational style, coupled with his charismatic personality, will frame his recollections of life as both student and coach at Atlantic Christian (now Barton College) and his passion for Bob Dylan and his music.
The event will take place in Hackney Library’s Learning Commons on the campus of Barton College. A reception will open the event at 5 p.m., followed by Parham’s talk at 5:30 p.m. This program is open to the public at no charge, and the community is invited to attend.
This championship-winning tennis coach and ACC alumnus is also a lover of books and music. Parham is the author of three books: “The Little Green Book of Tennis,” “Play is Where Life Is,” and “ALOT (A Level of Thinking.” And, in October 2017, he donated his collection of more than 30 books and four DVDs about Bob Dylan to Hackney Library for circulation.
From 1964 to 1983, Parham coached tennis at Atlantic Christian, and, from 1983 to 1985, he served as director of athletics. He led the Bulldogs to NAIA National Tennis Championships in 1979 and 1984, and later earned another NAIA National Championship for Elon University in 1990, where he served as tennis coach from 1985 until his retirement in 2004. Parham was named NAIA National Coach of the Year in 1977, 1979, 1985, and 1990.
For his service to collegiate tennis and his achievements in the sport, Parham was named in 1979 to North Carolina’s Order of the Long Leaf Pine, the highest civilian honor awarded in the state of North Carolina. He has received numerous awards throughout his career, including induction into several athletic halls of fame and the awarding of the Elon Medallion, the University’s highest honor, upon his retirement in 2004. He now serves on the N.C. Tennis Association’s Board of Directors.
In addition to his Bachelor of Arts degree in English and Physical Education from Atlantic Christian (now Barton) College, Parham holds a Master of Education degree from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. A professor emeritus at Elon University, he now resides in Emerald Isle with his wife, Margaret.
For additional information about this upcoming event, please contact Hackney Library at 252-399-6502.
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