Rita Potts Parks (born 1962) is an American politician serving as a

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

member of the

Mississippi State Senate The Mississippi Senate is the upper house of the Mississippi Legislature, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Mississippi. The Senate, along with the lower Mississippi House of Representatives, convenes at the Mississippi State Capitol ...

, representing the 4th district since 2012.

Early life and education

Parks was born on December 18, 1962, in

Corinth, Mississippi Corinth is a city in and the county seat of Alcorn County, Mississippi, United States. The population was 14,573 at the 2010 census. Its ZIP codes are 38834 and 38835. It lies on the state line with Tennessee. History Corinth was founded i ...

. She attended Alcorn Central High School. After high school, she went to

Northeast Mississippi Community College Northeast Mississippi Community College (NEMCC) is a public community college in Booneville, Mississippi. History The college was founded in 1948 as ''Northeast Mississippi Junior College,'' and became known primarily as an agricultural school a ...

, graduating with an

Associate of Science An associate degree is an undergraduate degree awarded after a course of post-secondary study lasting two to three years. It is a level of qualification above a high school diploma, GED, or matriculation, and below a bachelor's degree. Th ...

in Biology in 1982. She entered the

University of Mississippi The University of Mississippi ( byname Ole Miss) is a public research university that is located adjacent to Oxford, Mississippi, and has a medical center in Jackson. It is Mississippi's oldest public university and its largest by enrollment ...

in late 1982 and graduated with a

Bachelor of Science A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for programs that generally last three to five years. The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Science was the University o ...

in Biology/Biological Sciences in 1985. In 1987, she entered State Technical Institute, earning an Associate of Science in Industrial Engineering in 1989.

Career

Parks ran for election for Mississippi Senate District 4 in 2011, where she ran unopposed in the Republican primary. She won the general election by a narrow margin, earning 50.7% of the vote; she assumed office on January 3, 2012. Her district includes parts of Alcorn County and Tippah County. For the 2020-2024 Senate term, she serves as the Chair of the Universities and Colleges committee and vice-chair for the Highways and Transportation committee. She is a member for the following others: Accountability, Efficiency, Transparency; Business and Financial Institutions; Ethics; Finance; Medicaid; and Public Health and Welfare.

Political positions

She voted for changing the Mississippi state flag in 2020.

Personal life

She is a member of the

National Rifle Association The National Rifle Association of America (NRA) is a gun rights advocacy group based in the United States. Founded in 1871 to advance rifle marksmanship, the modern NRA has become a prominent gun rights lobbying organization while cont ...

, the

Kiwanis Kiwanis International ( ) is an international service club founded in 1915 in Detroit, Michigan. It is headquartered in Indianapolis, Indiana, United States, and is found in more than 80 nations and geographic areas. Since 1987, the organizat ...

service club, the

American Society for Quality The American Society for Quality (ASQ), formerly the American Society for Quality Control (ASQC), is a society of quality professionals, with nearly 80,000 members. History ASQC was established on 16 February 1946 by 253 members in Milwaukee, ...

, and the Parenteral Drug Association. Parks is married and has one daughter. She is a Baptist.

References

External links

Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Parks, Rita Potts Living people 1962 births People from Corinth, Mississippi University of Mississippi alumni Republican Party Mississippi state senators Women state legislators in Mississippi 21st-century American legislators 21st-century American women politicians