2023 Regular Session ENROLLED
SENATE RESOLUTION NO. 126
BY SENATORS CORTEZ, ABRAHAM, ALLAIN, BARROW, BERNARD,
BOUDREAUX, BOUIE, CARTER, CATHEY, CLOUD, CONNICK,
DUPLESSIS, FESI, FIELDS, FOIL, HARRIS, HENRY, HENSGENS,
HEWITT, JACKSON, KLEINPETER, LAMBERT, LUNEAU,
MCMATH, MILLIGAN, ROBERT MILLS, MIZELL, MORRIS,
PEACOCK, POPE, PRICE, REESE, SMITH, STINE, TALBOT,
TARVER, WHITE AND WOMACK
A RESOLUTION
To commend the Honorable Fred H. Mills Jr. on twenty-three years of distinguished public
service to the state of Louisiana and to express heartfelt gratitude for the kindness,
compassion, intellect, humor, and statesmanship he brought to the Louisiana State
Capitol.
WHEREAS, Fred H. Mills Jr. was born and raised in Breaux Bridge, Louisiana, into
a family deeply rooted in faith, hard work, and public service; and
WHEREAS, his father, Fred H. Mills Sr., was the mayor of Breaux Bridge for most
of the 1970s and was regarded by everyone as a man of great respectability; and
WHEREAS, Fred H. Mills Sr. was an exemplary role model for his son on how to
use the great privilege of being a public servant to treat people with respect and kindness to
achieve a benefit for all; and
WHEREAS, Senator Mills is considered the flesh-and-blood replica of his
immensely respected late father and is a perfect reflection of the character and integrity
imparted upon him by his late mother, Mary Alice Mills, who instilled in her son the
importance of responsibility, hard work, prayerfulness, and thankfulness; and
WHEREAS, Senator Mills graduated from Breaux Bridge High School and the
University of Louisiana at Monroe, College of Pharmacy, and in 1981, at the young age of
twenty-six, opened his own pharmacy, Mills Cashway Pharmacy in Parks, Louisiana; and
WHEREAS, as a licensed pharmacist he was a pioneer in the development of
pharmaceutical delivery and grew his small community pharmacy throughout all of rural St.
Martin Parish long before the internet or home delivery of any commodity was considered
mainstream; and
WHEREAS, his hilarious commercials for Mills Cashway Pharmacy garnered him
several national awards for creative advertising, but his intention was greater than just
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making people laugh, it was to draw people into the pharmacy so he could help them
properly take their medications, manage their chronic conditions, and help improve the
quality of life of the people in his community; and
WHEREAS, he also served as the executive director for the Louisiana Board of
Pharmacy, and during his tenure he was responsible for the complete rewrite and
modernization of the Pharmacy Practice Act to better utilize the skills and expertise of the
pharmacist in the patient continuum of care; and
WHEREAS, during the devastating aftermath of Hurricane Katrina in 2005, Senator
Mills was tapped by Governor Kathleen Babineaux Blanco to be the state lead on the
monumental task of managing the Strategic National Stockpile federal repository of
antibiotics, vaccines, chemical antidotes, antitoxins, and other critical medical supplies being
brought into the state; overseeing a process to reunite patients, many of whom were
dispersed throughout the United States, with critical medications and supplies that were lost
following the catastrophic destruction of pharmacies and pharmacy records at a time before
access to electronic patient records was common; and rallying the pharmacy community to
continue to provide medications without payment for many months until he was able to wear
down the bureaucrats at the Federal Emergency Management Agency to finally issue
reimbursement; and
WHEREAS, in addition to being a pharmacist, Senator Mills has been on the Board
of Directors of Farmers Merchants Bank and Trust and has served as the president and CEO
of the bank for the past twenty-two years; and
WHEREAS, during his tenure as president and CEO, he significantly grew bank
assets, expanded to six branches in three parishes, managed over one hundred employees,
bolstered the commercial book of business significantly, and led the bank through major
technological advancements, and still today, he continues to guide his employees through
the rapidly changing style of banking demanded by consumers; and
WHEREAS, Senator Mills began his political career in 2000, being elected to the St.
Martin Parish Council, where he served until 2007; and
WHEREAS, as a councilman he not only used his expertise in the realm of health
care and banking to better serve his community, but was immediately indoctrinated into the
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daily struggles of people regarding roads, bridges, sewer, water, drainage, flooding, schools,
taxes, and so many other issues that would shape his entire political career; and
WHEREAS, in 2007, he was elected to represent the people of Louisiana House of
Representatives District No. 46, and was immediately recognized for his captivating ability
as a freshman legislator to tackle hard issues head-on while remaining respectful of both
sides of the debate; and
WHEREAS, in 2011, he was elected to represent the people of Iberia, Lafayette, St.
Landry, and St. Martin parishes when the seat for Louisiana Senate District No. 22 was
vacated and quickly established himself as an exceptional resource on the Senate Committee
on Health and Welfare and the Senate Committee on Finance; and
WHEREAS, he was reelected without opposition in 2015 and was appointed by
Senate President John Alario to serve as the chairman of the Senate Committee on Health
and Welfare during the 2016 to 2020 term, overseeing the physical, behavioral, and social
healthcare policy and legislative directives governing the residents of Louisiana; and
WHEREAS, Senator Mills was reelected again without opposition in 2019, and in
January 2020, Senate President Patrick "Page" Cortez reappointed him to continue serving
as chairman of the Senate Committee on Health and Welfare and also appointed him as
Senate Parliamentarian; and
WHEREAS, in addition to serving at one time on nearly every Senate standing
committee, Senator Mills has served on numerous public and private boards and
commissions including the Acadian Ambulance Board of Directors for over fifteen years,
the St. Martin Economic Development Authority (SMEDA) for over thirty years as a
founding member and current president and CEO, and the Board of Directors for the St.
Martin Parish Hospital Service District for over forty years; and
WHEREAS, during his tenure as a state legislator he has authored significant
legislation impacting the areas of health care, human service districts, safe drinking water,
local sewerage systems, behavioral health care, access to physical therapy, medical
marijuana, pharmacy benefit managers, Medicaid managed care, taxation, professional and
occupational health licensing boards, and the opioid crisis, to name just a few; and
WHEREAS, during his time as a state legislator, he helped the residents of this state
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recover not only from the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, but also from many other
hurricanes, floods, and natural and manmade disasters to have befallen this state; and
WHEREAS, despite the optimism of the new term and new decade that was starting
in 2020, Senator Mills, like the rest of the world, was thrown into the global COVID-19
pandemic; and
WHEREAS, he worked tirelessly to help the people of his district and this state
access state and federal resources available to cope with the abrupt and unprecedented
disruption of life as it was known prior to March 2020; and
WHEREAS, in addition to the turmoil COVID-19 caused at his pharmacy and bank
that demanded his attention, he never hesitated to tap every resource available to help his
constituents in need, much like he always has based on the example set by his father; and
WHEREAS, Senator Mills has always approached his responsibility as a public
servant in a way that exemplifies the goodness of government and all that can be
accomplished to help people, as opposed to the volatility of politics, which if left unchecked
can be hurtful and divisive; and
WHEREAS, he has always been a man of the people committed to the people,
treating everyone who approached him as a friend with the same respect no matter how big
or small their voices were; and
WHEREAS, his legislative assistant, Ms. Yvette Greig, has been his trusted assistant
and voice of compassion since he was first elected to public office in 2000; and
WHEREAS, he often uses humor to diffuse tense situations in meetings or committee
hearings, but he has never disregarded or minimized the positions of people who meet with
him or testify before his committee; and
WHEREAS, Senator Mills is the most humble of politicians, a true gentleman and
statesman, who has set the bar extremely high for those who follow in his footsteps; and
WHEREAS, his wisdom, decorum, and ability to be a steadfast legislative leader will
be sorely missed by every legislator who has had the honor of serving with him, by all of the
staff who have had the privilege of working with him, by all of the lobbyists who have been
able to rely on him, by the residents of this state who have benefitted from his heroic efforts
on their behalf, and most importantly, by the people of Senate District 22 who have had the
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most loyal of champions fighting on their behalf; and
WHEREAS, although Senator Mills has reached the end of his final term in the
Louisiana Legislature, there is no doubt that whatever lies ahead for him in the next chapter
of his life he will continue to be profoundly impactful on those around him because that is
simply the kind of man that he is, and always will be, even without a political title to his
name.
THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Senate of the Legislature of Louisiana
does hereby commend and congratulate the Honorable Fred H. Mills Jr. on twenty-three
years of distinguished public service to the state of Louisiana.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Senate of the Legislature of Louisiana does
hereby express heartfelt gratitude to Senator Mills for setting a standard of character and
integrity founded on kindness, compassion, intellect, humor, and statesmanship that
everyone who walks the halls of this great capitol should emulate.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Senate of the Legislature of Louisiana does
hereby extend to Senator Mills the most sincere wishes for many years of success and
happiness in all of his future endeavors.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a copy of this Resolution be transmitted to the
Honorable Fred H. Mills Jr.
PRESIDENT OF THE SENATE
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