EVELYN GATES AWARD
PRESENTED BY
About the Award
The Evelyn Gates Award was established to honor a female high school varsity volleyball student-athlete who exhibits top tier skill, spirit and sportsmanship in the Kansas City area. The winner of the award is chosen by area high school coaches.
The annual traveling trophy is presented to the student-athlete to display at her school along with a $500 stipend for its athletic department.
the legacy of evelyn gates
Evelyn Gates (1932-2003), a retired histology technician from KU Medical Center, officiated high school and college volleyball, softball and basketball for over 45 years in the Kansas City area and was a staunch advocate for girls’ high school sports. During her career, she touched the lives of tens of thousands of high school athletes, parents and officials.
Evelyn played third base and pitched for the Kansas City Dons, a softball touring team in the 1960’s. While officiating high school sports, she was admired by coaches, officials, student-athletes and parents. She was first and foremost a “people person.” She loved talking and conversing with everyone she met. She was the first woman in the state of Missouri to officiate a boys’ high school varsity basketball game and she officiated the first women’s NAIA tournament game held in the Kansas City area.
She was a softball umpire and was elected to the Softball Hall of Fame in Missouri. She officiated in all phases of athletic competition from the state to the national level. She also mentored many women officials in the sports of softball, basketball and volleyball during the infant stages of the Title IX movement.
Evelyn died of cancer on May 5, 2003. A memorial fund has been established to support the Evelyn Gates Award. To sustain the award in her honor, contributions can be made to WIN for KC and listing Evelyn Gates in the “Dedicate this Gift” field.
2024 AWARD WINNER
Logan Parks
Blue Valley NORTh high school
Logan Parks not only controls the court at the high school level for Blue Valley North, but she can also do so against the world’s best with her athleticism at setter and her thunderous power at hitter.
Parks is one of 24 players on the AVCA All-America watch list for National Player of the Year. The reigning Kansas Gatorade Player of the Year has re-written the record books at her high school in all hitting, setting and service categories and will leave the Mustangs as one of the best players in program history. She is a three-time all-state selection and was finalist for the Evelyn Gates Award in 2023.
The senior won a state championship in basketball as a sophomore and in volleyball in her freshman year. Parks powered the Mustangs to a second place finish last year at the state tournament and a third place finish her sophomore year and has taken her team the Class 6A state tournament all four years.
Parks was a member of the U19 USA volleyball team that won the Pan Am Games in Puerto Rico 2023 in addition to making the U21 National team roster this year.
After taking a demanding schedule of advanced placement classes as a junior, Parks accepted a scholarship to play volleyball next season at Stanford University.
“Logan is one of a kind,” said Blue Valley North coach Matt Allin. “She leads by example with her hard work, dedication and love of the sport and her teammates. Physically, she is one of the best volleyball players to ever play in the KC area. Her setting accuracy and hitting power is second to none. Her teammates and coaches rely on her to hold the team together and provide a strong foundation of leadership.”