Changes

==Background==

==Background==

Tarver's family has operated the J. S. Williams Funeral Home and insurance companies in Shreveport<ref name=senate>{{cite web|url=http://senate.legis.state.la.us/senators/archives/1995/LinkShell.asp?type=tarver|title=Senator Gregory W. "Greg" Tarver, Sr."|publisher=Louisiana State Senate|accessdate=April 12, 2021}}</ref> for more than a century. Tarver graduated from Alton Senior High School in Alton in Madison County, [[Illinois]], home of the 19th century [[abolitionist]] Elijah Parish Lovejoy (1802-1837). He also attended a business college and the historically black Grambling State University in Grambling west of [[Ruston, Louisiana|Ruston]] in Lincoln Parish. He served in the military from 1967 to 1969. From 1973 to 1975, he was one of the directors of what became the Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center in Shreveport, formerly known as Confederate Memorial Medical Center or "Charity Hospital."<ref name=enlou>Senate District 39, enlou.com, accessed November 25, 2009; no longer on-line.</ref> From 1975 to 1978, he held the District 5 seat on the former Caddo Parish Police Jury, subsequently the Caddo Parish Commission, the parish governing board.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.caddohistory.com/black_parish_commissioners.html|title=History: Afro-Americans and Caddo Parish Police Jurors/Caddo Pa rish Commissioners|publisher=caddohistory.com|accessdate=November 25, 2009}}</ref> Tarver was named in 1978 among the "Outstanding Young Men of America." In 1983, he was designated "Black Leader of the Year" in Shreveport. He is a member of the Masonic lodge and the [[Baptist]] denomination.<ref name=enlou/>

Tarver's family has operated the J. S. Williams Funeral Home and insurance companies in Shreveport for more than a century. Tarver graduated from Alton Senior High School in Alton in Madison County, [[Illinois]], home of the 19th century [[abolitionist]] Elijah Parish Lovejoy (1802-1837). He also attended a business college and the historically black Grambling State University in Grambling west of [[Ruston, Louisiana|Ruston]] in Lincoln Parish. He served in the military from 1967 to 1969. From 1973 to 1975, he was one of the directors of what became the Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center in Shreveport, formerly known as Confederate Memorial Medical Center or "Charity Hospital."<ref name=enlou>Senate District 39, enlou.com, accessed November 25, 2009; no longer on-line.</ref> From 1975 to 1978, he held the District 5 seat on the former Caddo Parish Police Jury, subsequently the Caddo Parish Commission, the parish governing board.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.caddohistory.com/black_parish_commissioners.html|title=History: Afro-Americans and Caddo Parish Police Jurors/Caddo Pa rish Commissioners|publisher=caddohistory.com|accessdate=November 25, 2009}}</ref> Tarver was named in 1978 among the "Outstanding Young Men of America." In 1983, he was designated "Black Leader of the Year" in Shreveport. He is a member of the Masonic lodge and the [[Baptist]] denomination.<ref name=enlou/>

Tarver is married to Velma J. Kirksey-Tarver, the owner of Quality Office Supply and the chairman of VRC Educational Scholarship Foundation. Mrs. Tarver is also the founder of the Institute for Global Outreach, a [[non-profit organization]] whose mission is to increase awareness of global suffering and to provide humanitarian services to impoverished children and families in [[Ethiopia]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.reflectionslifecoaching.com/Velma.html|title=Coach Velma K. Tarver, July 16, 2010 |accessdate=July 16, 2010}}</ref>

Tarver is married to Velma J. Kirksey-Tarver, the owner of Quality Office Supply and the chairman of VRC Educational Scholarship Foundation. Mrs. Tarver is also the founder of the Institute for Global Outreach, a [[non-profit organization]] whose mission is to increase awareness of global suffering and to provide humanitarian services to impoverished children and families in [[Ethiopia]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.reflectionslifecoaching.com/Velma.html|title=Coach Velma K. Tarver, July 16, 2010 |accessdate=July 16, 2010}}</ref>