Representatives from the Arkansas Tech University Department of Athletics and the ATU Office of Facilities Management collaborated to plant a tree in memory of ATU staff member Kevin Sparks on Thursday, April 28.
Sparks served on the athletics facilities maintenance staff at ATU from 2008-22. He died Feb. 8. He was 52.
The tree, a yellow maple, was planted adjacent to the Chartwells Women’s Sports Complex. Sparks was a long-time umpire and advocate for the game of softball in the Arkansas River Valley. The tree planted in his memory was positioned such that it could be seen from home plate for the ATU softball field.