Roland G. Parrish receives the 95th Linz Award

(JJT Media Group) –Roland G. Parrish views each day as an opportunity to honor his grandfather. The legacy and work ethic of Will Leander Parrish, his grandfather, has served as a daily inspiration.During the Great Depression, Will Parrish, an Arkansas sharecropper, moved to Memphis, Tennessee, in search of a better life.Related Stories Each morning, at about 4:30 a.m., his grandfather would rise, eat breakfast, get dressed and reach for a pair of worn work boots.“I was told his boots didn’t have soles, so he had to put wire mesh into his boots,” Roland Parrish told a crowd of more than 500 at the Hilton Anatole hotel on Nov. 8.“He didn’t have shoestrings; he had to use wire. He had to take pliers to tie his shoes.”Then, Will Parrish would make the daily 30-minute walk along the Wolf River, ensuring he would be the first worker at the gravel pit. That’s because the foreman set out shovels equal to the number of workers he needed each morning. Sometimes, he only set out one shovel.“He eventually bought books and taught himself to be a carpenter,” Roland Parrish said of his grandfather. “… I stand on his shoulders. He didn’t have to make...