2023 Regular Session ENROLLED
SENATE RESOLUTION NO. 152
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, FRED MILLS, ROBERT MILLS, MIZELL,
MORRIS, PEACOCK, POPE, PRICE, REESE, SMITH, STINE,
TALBOT, WHITE AND WOMACK
A RESOLUTION
To commend the Honorable Gregory W. Tarver Sr. for his forty-nine years of exemplary
public service and to express enduring gratitude for his outstanding contributions
made on behalf of his constituents and the state of Louisiana, particularly his tenure
as a distinguished member of the Louisiana Senate representing District 39.
WHEREAS, Gregory W. Tarver Sr. was born at the end of WWII in Shreveport,
Louisiana, one of seven children; and
WHEREAS, at an early age, Greg learned from his mother Balistine the importance
of service, hard work, and treating people with dignity and respect; and
WHEREAS, Greg also learned the importance of saving money and being financially
responsible from his Nanny, Aunt Pearlie; knowledge that has served him well throughout
his life; and
WHEREAS, Greg entered Grambling State University but his studies were
interrupted in 1967 when he was drafted into the Vietnam War; and
WHEREAS, his experience serving in the military proved to be a defining time in
his life; risking his life fighting overseas for a country that did not treat him equally inspired
him to join the fight for social change that would chart a course for the remainder of his life;
and
WHEREAS, upon returning from Vietnam, Tarver took over as CEO of his family's
now one hundred twelve year old funeral home business and joined the Shreveport Chapter
of the NAACP; and
WHEREAS,Tarver actively participated in boycotts and marches in the Shreveport
area and quickly became a civil rights leader in Shreveport as he protested discriminatory
hiring practices at local businesses, segregation at lunch counters, and police brutality; and
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WHEREAS, Tarver also joined other local civil rights leaders in the fight for better
job opportunities and equal funding for African-American educational institutions; and
WHEREAS, in 1972, as a member of the Board of Directors of Confederate
Memorial Medical Center, now LSU Health Sciences Center - Shreveport, Tarver
experienced one of his proudest moments which included working with other community
leaders in the effort that ultimately led to changing the name of Confederate Memorial
Medical Center to LSU Medical Center; and
WHEREAS, Tarver continued his fight for justice and equality when he was elected
to serve as a Caddo Parish Police Juror in 1974 and then as a Shreveport City Councilman
from 1978 to 1984; as one of only three black members, Tarver worked hard to ensure that
Shreveport's city government served all of its citizens, including providing funding for
infrastructure in neglected African-American neighborhoods and equitable hiring practices
at both the Shreveport police and fire departments; and
WHEREAS, Tarver knew the importance of affordable housing for low and moderate
income families and was instrumental in establishing the Shreveport Home Mortgage
Authority which assisted families in building and financing their homes; and
WHEREAS, in 1984, Tarver became the first African American elected to the
Louisiana State Senate from North Louisiana since Reconstruction; and
WHEREAS, during his years in the Senate, Tarver secured millions of dollars for a
Lakeside-Allendale-based community program called the Association for Community
Training which included an after-school studies program, homemakers' program for the
elderly, childcare food program, teenage girls and boys outreach, drug education and
prevention program; and
WHEREAS, realizing that Shreveport had no museums of different cultures, in 1999,
Tarver also spearheaded the establishment of the Multi-Cultural Center of the South; and
WHEREAS, Tarver helped secure millions of dollars for the LSU Health Science
Center in Shreveport, which helped to fund construction and renovations of the Cancer
Center, Ambulatory Care Building, Women's and Children's Clinic, a Pediatric ICU, the
Alphonse Jackson Classroom Building, the Allied Health Facility, a Gene Therapy
Consortium, a Sickle Cell Clinic, an Emergency Care Center Expansion, the Center of
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Excellence for Clinical Forensic Toxicology, and the Arthritis Center; and
WHEREAS, Senator Tarver fought to grow and expand Southern University
Shreveport by working to secure millions of dollars for the expansion and renovations of
programs and buildings that included the Administration Building, the Johnny Vance
Activity Center, the Nursing Program, the Dental Hygiene Program, and the Aerospace
Technology Center; and
WHEREAS, Tarver fought to secure millions of dollars for local jobs, businesses,
and infrastructure for the Shreveport community; and
WHEREAS, Tarver also worked to secure millions of dollars for projects to benefit
the rural areas in his district which included the cities, towns, and villages of: Belcher,
Blanchard, Gilliam, Hosston, Ida, Mooringsport, Oil City, Rodessa, Vivian, and Mira; and
WHEREAS, after twenty years in the Senate and serving as Chairman of the Senate
Insurance Committee and as a member of the Finance Committee, Environmental Quality
Committee and Judiciary B Committee, Senator Tarver decided not to seek reelection in
2004 so he could spend more time with his growing family and focus on expanding a
company he established for his family, Quality Office Supply; and
WHEREAS, following his decision not to seek reelection, Senator Tarver and his
wife Velma cofounded the VRC Educational and Scholarship Program which was started
with personal monies and sustained by personal donations made monthly by the senator and
his wife; and
WHEREAS, since its inception, VRC Educational and Scholarship Program has
awarded over $75,000 in scholarships to students in Northern Caddo Parish; and
WHEREAS, after an eight-year hiatus from politics, Tarver decided it was time for
him to run to represent North Shreveport and the surrounding areas in Baton Rouge again;
and
WHEREAS, in 2011 Senator Tarver was elected to serve the people of Senate
District 39 to work hard for North Louisiana and live up to his slogan, "He Gets the Job
Done"; and
WHEREAS, over the past twelve years, Senator Tarver has primarily focused on
securing proper state funding for LSU Health Sciences Center in Shreveport to ensure it
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remains a viable, robust research center; equitable funding for Louisiana's public historically
black universities and ensuring that the necessary funding is allocated for the cities, towns,
and villages in his district; and
WHEREAS, Senator Tarver's passion for LSU Health Sciences Center in Shreveport
is irrefutable and has allowed the organization to deliver exemplary medical education and
lifesaving healthcare services for all citizens in North Louisiana; and
WHEREAS, Senator Tarver has guided millions of dollars toward needed resources
for new equipment for surgical and clinical skills labs, a mobile cancer screening van for
rural communities providing patients from all socioeconomic levels cutting-edge treatment;
and
WHEREAS, Senator Tarver directed dedicated state funding for LSU Health
Sciences Center in Shreveport's state-of-the-art, 155,000-square-foot Center for Medical
Education and Emerging Viral Threats; and
WHEREAS, during the 2021 arctic outbreak in which Shreveport experienced
treacherous conditions that negatively impacted infrastructure, Senator Tarver quickly
recognized the need for LSU Health Sciences Center to have a separate water source to
ensure needed healthcare services would always be available even during inclement weather
events and steered funds to create the comprehensive emergency water supply
improvements; and
WHEREAS, Senator Tarver has also been an ardent and steadfast supporter of
Southern University and Grambling State University; and
WHEREAS, throughout Senator Tarver's long public service career, he has been the
catalyst for securing much-needed funding, ensuring equity in the allocation of resources,
and a constant promoter of historically black colleges and universities in Louisiana; and
WHEREAS, through Senator Tarver's efforts, students have been able to pursue their
degrees in newly built or updated classrooms, have access to modern state-of-the-art
technology, and are taught by world-renowned educators; and
WHEREAS, Senator Tarver has forged a political career that has endured for almost
half a century which includes serving in the Senate under five governors and participating
in seventy-six regular, extraordinary, and organizational sessions; and
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WHEREAS, devoted husband, father, and businessman, Senator Gregory Tarver
helped shape Louisiana's social, political, and economic landscape for the betterment of all
people; and
WHEREAS, Senator Tarver's legacy will live on in future generations who will have
a better life and more opportunities because of his dedicated service; and
WHEREAS, as he prepares for the next chapter of life, Senator Gregory Tarver
merits a special tribute for his years of faithful public service, for his contributions to the
betterment of the state of Louisiana, and for his exemplary accomplishments as a faithful
public servant.
THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Senate of the Legislature of Louisiana
does hereby commend and congratulate Gregory W. Tarver Sr. for his forty-nine years of
public service.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a copy of this Resolution be transmitted to the
Honorable Gregory W. Tarver, the distinguished legislator representing Louisiana Senatorial
District 39.
PRESIDENT OF THE SENATE
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