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2019 Regular Session
SENATE RESOLUTION NO. 198
BY SENATOR ALARIO
COMMENDATIONS. Commends John R. Smith on his service in the Senate.
1 A RESOLUTION
2 To commend the Honorable John R. Smith for his service to the people of the state of
3 Louisiana and for his many outstanding accomplishments during his tenure in the
4 Louisiana Senate.
5 WHEREAS, John R. Smith is completing an outstanding career in public service for
6 the people of Beauregard, Calcasieu, and Vernon parishes and for the state of Louisiana; and
7 WHEREAS, after graduating from Leesville High School, Senator Smith received
8 a bachelor of science degree and a master's degree in business administration from Loyola
9 University in New Orleans and studied at Harvard's John F. Kennedy School of Government
10 in Cambridge, Massachusetts; and
11 WHEREAS, an investor, past Chamber of Commerce president, and past president
12 of the Vernon Parish Police Jury, Senator Smith has also served as a member of the
13 Republican Delegation and the Acadiana Delegation of the Louisiana Legislature; and
14 WHEREAS, Senator Smith's professional, civic, and business affiliations include the
15 Leesville Lions Club, the Leesville/Vernon Chamber of Commerce, the Masons, the
16 Shriners, and the board of directors of the Sabine State Bank; and
17 WHEREAS, Senator Smith began his career of public service as a member of the
18 Vernon Parish Police Jury in the early 1980s and was elected to the Louisiana House of
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1 Representatives in 1987; and
2 WHEREAS, among other appointments, then Representative Smith was a sixteen-
3 year member of the House Committee on Appropriations and also served as a member of the
4 Joint Legislative Committee on the Budget and as chairman of the House Committee on
5 Natural Resources; and
6 WHEREAS, after his tenure of two decades as a member of the people's chamber,
7 the voters of Senate District 30 rewarded his statesmanship by electing Senator Smith to
8 serve in the Louisiana Senate in 2007, and reelected him to two successive terms; and
9 WHEREAS, Senator Smith is the chairman of the Senate Committee on Insurance
10 and has served as chairman of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Consumer Protection,
11 and International Affairs, and as vice chairman of the Senate Committee on Senate and
12 Governmental Affairs; and
13 WHEREAS, Senator Smith is a member of the Senate Committee on Local and
14 Municipal Affairs, the Senate Committee on Revenue and Fiscal Affairs, and the Senate
15 Committee on Agriculture, Forestry, Aquaculture, and Rural Development, as well as the
16 Select Committee on Coastal Restoration and Flood Control, the Office of Group Benefits
17 Policy and Planning Board, the Joint Legislative Committee on Capital Outlay, the State
18 Bond Commission, and the Legislative Audit Advisory Council, and he also represents the
19 Senate on the Louisiana Workers' Compensation Corporation; and
20 WHEREAS, Senator Smith has represented Louisiana on the executive committee
21 of the Energy Council for twenty-five years, twice serving as chairman of the council; and
22 WHEREAS, Senator Smith and his wife of fifty-six years, the former Pamela
23 Arnondin, have two children, Bradford and Payton, and grandchildren, Hays and Harrison;
24 and
25 WHEREAS, Senator Smith is a man of unflappable effectiveness, working diligently
26 to build relationships with his fellow legislators, statewide elected officials, and everyone
27 involved in the legislative process, regardless of their rank, position, caucus, or party
28 affiliation; and
29 WHEREAS, Senator Smith is a master of capital outlay, successfully acquiring
30 funding for essential infrastructure projects that affect all the people of District 30, including
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1 water, sewage, drainage, energy, and road projects; and
2 WHEREAS, Senator Smith was instrumental in securing the transportation funding
3 necessary for the construction of the vital four-lane highway connecting Leesville, Fort Polk,
4 and Alexandria and to complete the four-lane highway connecting Lake Charles and
5 Shreveport; and
6 WHEREAS, Senator Smith takes particular pride in his work to serve those who have
7 served their country in the establishment of the Central Louisiana Veterans Cemetery in
8 Vernon Parish; and
9 WHEREAS, Senator Smith merits accolades and appreciation of the highest order
10 for devoting nearly forty years of his life to the service of others through elective office,
11 culminating with his distinguished twelve-year career in the Louisiana Senate.
12 THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Senate of the Legislature of Louisiana
13 does hereby express its enduring gratitude to the Honorable John R. Smith for his steadfast
14 commitment to the citizens of Senate District 30 and the people of Louisiana.
15 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Senate of the Legislature of Louisiana does
16 hereby extend to him the best wishes of his fellow Senators for success in all his future
17 endeavors.
18 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a copy of this Resolution be transmitted to the
19 Honorable John R. Smith of Louisiana Senatorial District 30.
The original instrument and the following digest, which constitutes no part
of the legislative instrument, were prepared by LG Sullivan.
DIGEST
SR 198 Original 2019 Regular Session Alario
Commends the Honorable John R. Smith for his service in the Senate.
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