DURANGO, Colo. — Skyhawk Booster Club President Eric Jones and his wife, Stephanie, received the Joanne Parish Outstanding Spectator Award at tonight's Skyhawk Awards Banquet.
“Eric and Stephanie really stepped up to the table when the Skyhawk Booster Club needed it most,” said Director of Athletics Kelly Higgins. “They are great supporters of the Skyhawks and Durango. We wouldn't be able to succeed at our current level without their commitment and help. I am very thankful they are part of our team.”
Eric Jones is a longtime member of the Skyhawk Booster Club Board of Directors, having served as a board member, vice president and, most recently, president. In his current role, he also represents the boosters on the Fort Lewis College Foundation Executive Board of Directors. He is a vice president at First National Bank of Durango.
Together with his wife, Stephanie, and daughters Krista and Amanda, the Jones family puts thousands of miles on their car driving to cheer on Skyhawk athletic teams on the road. They can also be seen and heard courtside at nearly every home contest at Whalen Gymnasium and midfield at Dirks Field, Ray Dennison Memorial Stadium and Aspen Field.
But the Joneses do so much more than cheer the Skyhawks and jeer officials and opposing teams. They helped organize team hosts for the 14 teams that have visited Durango the past two years for the women's basketball NCAA Division II Central Regionals. They have raised thousands of dollars for a variety of scholarships, program support and special projects like championship rings for men's soccer and women's basketball teams. And they have personally been among FLC's most generous donors for many years.
The Joanne Parish Outstanding Spectator Award is presented each year to someone who has shown outstanding spirit at Fort Lewis College athletic events and given of themselves in service to the Department of Athletics and Skyhawk Booster Club. Past recipients have included boosters, fans, administrators, college employees and students, among others. It is named after Joanne Parish, a longtime member of the Skyhawk Booster Club Board of Directors and administrative assistant for both the Exercise Science and Athletic departments. She died at age 54 in 1997 of an aneurysm.
Past recipients of the Joanne Parish Outstanding Spectator Award include:
• 2010 – Peggy Sharp (Fort Lewis College executive assistant to the president)
• 2009 – Al Harper (Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad)
• 2008 – Sandy Jameson (Fort Lewis College Foundation scholarship manager)
• 2006 – Mary Lynn Malone (Campus Dining)
• 2005 – Sheri Rochford (Fort Lewis College Foundation executive director)
• 2004 – Brendan Vahey (student)
• 2001 – Maurine Liddiard (Skyhawk Booster Club Board of Directors)
• 2000 – Coby Wiegert & Brad Hitti (the cannon crew)
• 1999 – Marcy Jung (Fort Lewis College head volleyball coach)
• 1998 – Joel Jones (Fort Lewis College president)
• 1997 – Bill Mashaw (Skyhawk Booster Club Board of Directors)
• 1996 – Steve Miller (Skyhawk Booster Club Board of Directors), Peggy Sharp (Fort Lewis College executive assistant to the president)
• 1995 – Marie Homedew (Fort Lewis College custodian), Ron Trujillo (realtor)
• 1994 – Dona Guy (Fort Lewis College Registrar's Office), Duane Smith (Fort Lewis College faculty athletic representative)
