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Norm Parsons (holding plaque) is honored at a recent Coral Gables city commission meeting by, from left, Commissioner Frank C. Quesada, Mayor Jim Cason, Vice Mayor William “Bill” Kerdyk, Jr., Commissioner Patricia Keon, and Commissioner Vine Lago.
CORAL GABLES, Fla. (September 11, 2014) – By ensuring the smooth and seamless operation of the University of Miami’s 138,000-square-foot Patti and Allan Herbert Wellness Center for 18 years, Norman C. Parsons, Jr. undoubtedly helped thousands of faculty, staff, students and visitors start or finish their day on a positive note. Now, the man whose name has become synonymous with “wellness” over his 43 years at the University will have a day to call his own.
The Coral Gables City Commission declared September 17 “Norman C. Parsons, Jr. Day in Coral Gables,” honoring the executive director of UM’s wellness centers who is retiring at the end of September after more than four decades of service to the U.
Coral Gables Mayor Jim Cason delivered the proclamation at a Thursday city commission meeting. In part, it reads: “It is altogether fitting and proper that we recognize the many accomplishments made by Norm, a man who has given unstintingly of himself for so many years to the well-being of the University of Miami’s students, staff, and the community, at-large.”
Staff from the Herbert Wellness Center joined Parsons to accept the proclamation from Mayor Cason, Vice Mayor William “Bill” Kerdyk, Jr., and commissioners Patricia Keon, Vince Lago, and Frank C. Quesada.
Parsons provided the leadership to build the Herbert Wellness Center in 1996 and the subsequent addition that opened in 2011. He has held a number of other significant positions at UM, including coach of the 1977 and 1978 National Champion Women’s Golf Teams, coach of the Men’s Golf Teams from 1980-1988, chair of the Student Publications Committee since 1985, and lead fundraiser for the Division of Student Affairs since 2004. He is a member of Iron Arrow and served as the honor society’s advisor from 1995 to 2009. Last fall, he also assumed responsibility for the Miller School of Medicine’s UHealth Fitness and Wellness Center.
