Stacy Parris

Stacy Parris has been elected to the 2015 class of the Fannin County Sports Hall of Fame. Stacy earned four varsity letters in basketball, four in softball and one in track and field during her time at Fannin County High School from 1995-1999. Her basketball career spanned a period of unequalled success in basketball competition at the school. During her four years the Fannin County girls posted an amazing record of 103 victories and only 9 defeats. Stacy, the only child of Glenda and Jerry Parris, grew up in the Epworth community and attended elementary school there. She began playing basketball in the Recreation Department League at the age of ten. She was a good basketball player from the get-go, but admits that she worked very hard to improve her game. She experienced team success early on as her 10 and under team won a state championship. It was in the Fannin Recreation League that she began playing with Tina Grice, Roxie Reed and Leah Nelson, three of her teammates on the great Fannin County High School teams. Individual and team success continued immediately for Stacy in high school. During her freshman season of 1995-96, the Fannin County High girls posted a 28-1 record and did not lose a game until the class AA state tournament final 4. Stacy made a significant contribution to this team and won her first varsity letter. Stacy gained a starting spot as a shooting guard before her sophomore season and was a force to be reckoned with at the region and state level for the next three seasons. In her sophomore season, the team finished with a 23-5 record and earned the runner-up spot in the state tournament. Stacy was named to the all Region 7AA team and earned recognition as the Northwest Georgia Tip-Off Club player of the month in December, 1996. The Fannin girls made the sweet 16 in Stacy’s junior year and posted a 23-2 record. She continued to garner individual awards including all Region 7AA honors, Christmas tournament all-tournament team and Northwest Georgia Tip-Off Club player of the month in January, 1998. Everything came together for Stacy Parris and the Fannin County girls team in the season of 1998-99. She readily reveals that the goal of the members of that team was the State Championship, nothing short of a # 1 finish would be acceptable. From the beginning of the year, Stacy and the team rolled over opponent after opponent on their way to a 29-1 record and the Class AA Georgia State Championship. It was the second and, to date, the last team state championship in the history of Fannin County sports. The individual honors that came Stacy’s way during and after the 1998-99 season were numerous and included: -Northwest Georgia Tip-Off Club Player of the Year -Coca Cola Classic Christmas Tournament MVP -Region 7AA Player of the Year -MVP of the team -State of Georgia North All-Star Team -Atlanta Journal Honorable Mention All-State -Atlanta Journal Top 30 Players Watch List Stacy Parris possessed all of the physical skills necessary to succeed in athletics. Her ‘intangible’ attributes, however, set her apart from the field and made her one of the best players in the state. One of those important intangible factors was her resilience and ability to bounce back from adversity. In the semi-final round of the state tournament, Fannin County was matched against Dodge County, a south Georgia powerhouse. Stacy was given the assignment of defending an all-state guard on the Dodge County team. Her defensive performance was outstanding but, on the offensive end, she struggled through a poor shooting night and scored only 5 points, far below her average of 18 points per game. Undaunted, Stacy exploded for 40 points the next night in an 81-64 Fannin victory over Putnam County in the state championship game. Her performance included drilling 5 of 8 three-pointers and 15 of 17 free throws. To honor her accomplishments Fannin County High School retired Stacy’s jersey # 10. She registered a total of 1296 points during her high school career. Plus, she was an Honor Roll student all four years in high school. Needless to say, college recruiters came calling and Stacy signed a full scholarship to attend college and play basketball at North Georgia College. She played four seasons at North Georgia and was a starter for the last three seasons there. She was named to the Conference All-Freshman Team and graduated with a degree in Business Administration with a concentration in Marketing. Stacy Parris currently resides in Atlanta where she is employed by the Corporate Executive Board Company in Business Development. She travels extensively in her job and enjoys life in Atlanta. In her spare time, Stacy enjoys sports and all types of outdoor activity, especially hiking.