SLS 18RS-3337 ORIGINAL
2018 Regular Session
SENATE RESOLUTION NO. 180
BY SENATOR LONG
COMMENDAT IONS. Commends James K. Elrod upon being honored as a Louisiana
Legend by the Friends of Louisiana Public Broadcasting.
1 A RESOLUTION
2 To commend James K. Elrod upon being honored as a Louisiana Public Broadcasting
3 Louisiana Legend.
4 WHEREAS, each year, the Friends of Louisiana Public Broadcasting honor the best
5 and brightest of Louisiana's sons and daughters who have distinguished themselves in a
6 variety of disciplines and have brought honor to the state; and
7 WHEREAS, James K. Elrod is one of five distinguished Louisiana Legends being
8 honored this year; and
9 WHEREAS, Mr. Elrod, is the chief executive officer and leader of Willis-Knighton
10 Health System for fifty-three years and has the distinction of being one of the longest-
11 serving hospital administrators in the United States; and
12 WHEREAS, he began his college education in Waco, Texas, where he earned a
13 bachelor's degree in business administration from Baylor University in 1959, and upon
14 graduation, he joined the United States Air Force; and
15 WHEREAS, following his military service, Mr. Elrod completed a residency in
16 hospital administration at Baptist Medical Center in Jackson, Mississippi, at which time he
17 also attended Mississippi College of Law; and
18 WHEREAS, equipped with his degree in hospital administration and five years of
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SLS 18RS-3337 ORIGINAL
1 post-graduate education and experience, in April 1965, Mr. Elrod was chosen to lead Willis-
2 Knighton Memorial Hospital, finding a struggling sixty-five bed facility in desperate need
3 of leadership; and
4 WHEREAS, since then, he has remained deeply committed to building an excellent
5 hospital system dedicated to the service of its community and its patients, particularly
6 reaching out to provide medical services to the under served; and
7 WHEREAS, while devoting his professional efforts to the modernization and growth
8 of Willis-Knighton, Mr. Elrod has given his time and attention to improving his community
9 as a whole, including sponsorship of the Shreveport Symphony and Louisiana Public
10 Broadcasting; and
11 WHEREAS, among his many honors, Mr. Elrod has been named one of the most
12 influential people in the Arkansas-Louisiana-Texas region by the Shreveport Times, was
13 honored by the United Way of Northwest Louisiana with the Clint Fant Award in 2011, and
14 in 2012 he received the Distinguished Alumnus Award from Washington University; and
15 WHEREAS, as a leader who has impacted the state for many years, James K. Elrod
16 is truly a living example of a Louisiana legend.
17 THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Senate of the Legislature of Louisiana
18 does hereby commend and congratulate James K. Elrod on being named a Louisiana Legend
19 by the Friends of Louisiana Public Broadcasting.
20 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a copy of this Resolution be transmitted to
21 James K. Elrod.
The original instrument and the following digest, which constitutes no part
of the legislative instrument, were prepared by McHenry Lee.
DIGEST
SR 180 Original 2018 Regular Session Long
Commends James K. Elrod upon being named a Louisiana Legend by the Friends of
Louisiana Public Broadcasting.
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