Parks elected to OPERS board

Dec. 19, 2007 (COLUMBUS) – The recently elected president of the largest state employee union was tapped today to serve on the Board of Trustees of the Ohio Public Employees Retirement System. Eddie L. Parks was elected by the other members of the OPERS board as the designated representative of state employees and fills the vacancy created when the former state-employee representative retired earlier this year. His term of office will run through 2010.

The newest member of the 11-seat board said he is grateful for the opportunity given to him. “I am very honored to be given this opportunity to help lead OPERS. Everywhere I go, I hear workers expressing anxieties about their retirement benefits. The preservation of Ohio public employee pensions, including retiree health care, is an enormous priority and I look forward to helping the OPES Board maintain its deserved reputation for strategic planning, effective investments, efficient operations and quality customer service,” said Parks.

Parks was elected president of the 36,000-member Ohio Civil Service Employees Association in August. He has been active in the union for more than two decades including many years of service on OCSEA’s Board of Directors. He was elected vice president of the organization in 2003 and served in that office until this year’s election.

Parks is also an economic development coordinator for the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio. He has also worked as a deputy director in a number of PUCO divisions and departments. Before joining PUCO, Parks worked in upper-level positions in several Columbus-area community development organizations.

OCSEA represents public employees in a variety of blue-collar, semi-professional, professional and security occupations including state highway, security, skilled trades, mental health/ mental retardation/ developmental disabilities direct care, regulatory, clerical, scientific, legal and information technology workers. The union is affiliated with the 1.4 million-member American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees.

Download Photos - Digital photos of Parks, Mabe and Stewart are available below.

President Eddie L. Parks (JPEG - high / color)

President Eddie L. Parks (JPEG - high / bw)