Jackson, Mich. — Greg O’Connor of WKHM recently spoke with Anthony Parker, 2023 recipient of the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Medal of Service Award. Parker will be honored at the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Celebration Saturday, January 14 in the Victor Cuiss Fieldhouse at Jackson College. He says he’s been attending this annual event for years. “To know that I’ll be the one standing on the stage receiving that award is incredible.”
“I felt a whole lot of love and respect from the Jackson community that they would think so highly of me, that they would recommend me, and select me for this award,” says Parker. “What an honor.” Parker modestly mentions he has been volunteering his entire adult life from little league baseball to coaching junior high and high school and being a part of area events. Boards he has served on include the Juneteenth Celebration Committee, Henry Ford Health Foundation Board, Nonprofit Network Board of Directors, Interfaith Shelter Board, College and Career Access Board, YMCA Board, and more. He is also a member and elder at Mt. Hope Community Church in Jackson.
When asked how his retirement is going, Parker says his days of golfing and fishing were short-lived. He started a company called ASP Logistics, a delivery service partner with Amazon, in September. “I retired from Consumers Energy about a year and a half ago and I was sitting back enjoying the good life, I was golfing and now I’m on the lake having a good time and this incredible opportunity came before me, and so I started a new business in my retirement,” says Parker.
In business just over a month, Parker says his company is already up to about 50 employees and the business is growing at such an incredible rate that he feels blessed to be able to provide employment for so many in the community.
Parker is also the chair of the MLK Corridor Improvement Authority, which he says is responsible for trying to bring resources to and build up some economic development in the Southside community of Jackson. The authority has been able to secure about $4.5 million to invest in the area. “When all sides of Jackson rise up, regardless of the neighborhood, if you can bring up one neighborhood you bring up the entire city.”
Listen to the full interview here:
