Elizabeth City, N.C. — Excitement always builds around the announcement of Elizabeth City State University’s (ECSU) Homecoming Parade grand marshals and this year, there are two. Rev. Ricky L. Banks and Elizabeth City-Pasquotank Public Schools Superintendent Keith Parker have been named the grand marshals for ECSU’s 2026 Homecoming Parade, set for Saturday, Oct. 10, from 9 a.m. to noon.
This year’s Homecoming theme, “The Viral Viking: Era of the Influencer,” celebrates the spirit, energy and influence of ECSU and its Viking community. “There may be no better way to embody that spirit than by placing two longtime champions of education, leadership and community at the forefront of the celebration,” said Kevin J. Wade, vice chancellor for Student Affairs.
For Banks, the parade represents a homecoming in more ways than one.
A native of Camden County and an ECSU alumnus, Banks graduated from the university in 1977 with a Bachelor of Science degree in Intermediate Education. For more than four decades, he has served as senior pastor of St. Stephen Missionary Baptist Church and has become a widely respected religious and community leader across northeastern North Carolina and beyond.
His service has extended well beyond the pulpit. Banks is president of the General Baptist State Convention of North Carolina Inc. and serves on the Board of Trustees for Shaw University.
His commitment to ECSU has remained equally strong. Banks has also served as an adjunct faculty member for the Old and New Testaments at ECSU and as secretary and vice-chairman of the Elizabeth City State University Foundation.
His decades of service have earned him some of North Carolina’s highest honors, including the Order of the Long Leaf Pine, presented in 2022. He has also received the Key to the City of Elizabeth City.
From ECSU to communities across the region, Banks has built a legacy rooted in education, faith and service.
Joining him as grand marshal is Superintendent Keith Parker, an educator and advocate whose career has focused on creating greater opportunities for students across rural Eastern North Carolina.
A native of Four Oaks, North Carolina, Parker earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees in History Education and a doctorate in Educational Leadership from East Carolina University. He also completed school administration training through the Northeast Leadership Academy at North Carolina State University, preparing educational leaders to serve rural northeastern North Carolina.
Parker began his career as a social studies teacher before moving into school and district leadership. As principal of Martin Millennium Academy in Edgecombe County, he helped establish a Spanish Dual Language Immersion program and partnered with the community to develop a global education curriculum.
Today, as superintendent of Elizabeth City-Pasquotank Public Schools, Parker has helped lead the district through significant gains in student achievement. Under his leadership, the district celebrated its first school to earn an “A” performance designation, while nine of its 12 schools improved by at least one letter grade over three years, including two schools that advanced two letter grades.
His work is grounded in a belief that public education is a powerful pathway to economic mobility, particularly for students growing up in rural communities.
He’s put that belief into action, leading the partnership between ECSU and ECPPS with the Northeastern Aviation Academy, helping to open new pathways in aviation education for local high school students. This mission makes his place in the ECSU Homecoming Parade especially fitting.
As the Viking community comes together for Homecoming, Banks and Parker will help lead a parade that celebrates where ECSU has been and the influence it continues to have throughout the region.
The ECSU Homecoming Parade will take place Saturday, Oct. 10, from 9 a.m. to noon. The parade will travel through local streets, typically proceeding east along E. Ehringhaus Street before turning south onto Water Street.
The parade is free and open to the public.
This Homecoming, all eyes are on ECSU and the Viking era is going viral.
