Henry “Hank” Parker, 89, of Bluffton, S.C., died Feb. 21, 2022. Parker served in the U.S. Marines and in 1968 started a Taylor Rental Center business in Fairport, N.Y. The company later became Hank Parker’s Rental Center. Parker ran the company for 26 years before selling it in 1994. The company is still in business today.
Parker served as president of the American Rental Association (ARA) in 1992. During his year as president, ARA’s Long Range Planning Committee worked to complete research and plan for the association’s
future. Parker saw this process as pivotal to his term, as well as the future of ARA, according to a January 1992 Rental Management interview.
“I think this is really exciting. Only because our association is so financially sound are we able to do this, to set out a road map of where the industry and the association are going over the next 10 years,” he said.
“We’re gathering the information now. We’ll be sharing that information and consolidating that information. And then we can get moving toward what the majority of people concerned with this industry feel should be done,” Parker added.
By November of that year, Parker and 1992 Senior Vice President Carl Hoerman reported that the committee had been sharpening ARA’s mission statement, goals, strategies and objectives.
In a July 2005 interview, Parker discussed the long-range plan: “Talk about coming out of the dark ages into a new era. To me it was a transitional period in our association. The industry had grown so fast. We’d gone beyond kindergarten, beyond primary stage and as an association we had to look out beyond the immediate future.” Parker credited those who worked on the plan with keeping their focus and having friendly discussions, which “once in a while got a little sparky,” but he was glad everyone was comfortable to freely express their ideas. “Everybody came to the table with some type of resource or opinion. Everybody had independence, but collectively it all came together.”
During his year as president, Parker said he spent more than 150 days away from his business. He and his wife, Ruth Anne, represented ARA throughout the country, and at the hire conventions in Australia and New Zealand. They always enjoyed their fellow rental people, and the suppliers who helped the industry grow.
Throughout his time in the rental industry, Parker also served in several other ARA roles, including chairman of the board, Region One director, member of the Government Affairs Committee and ARA’s political action committee (ARAPAC). He also received the Region One Person of the Year Award in 1987 and the Meritorious Service Award in 1988.
In 2006, Parker co-founded Moss Creek Marines in Bluffton. Last year, the organization gave more than $100,000 to various organizations that support Marines and their families.
He is survived by his sons Charles (Jenifer) Parker and Scott (Carol) Parker; daughters, Susan (John) Czap and Karen Parker; several grandchildren, great grandchildren and additional family members.