Stewart C. Mills Jr., who never forgot the community where he grew up and spent a lifetime giving back, was recognized Thursday for his many and quiet efforts to benefit the community.
Mills was a large part of building Mills Fleet Farm from two employees to more than 7,000 and growing it to stretch across four states. As a business leader, Mills worked quietly behind the scenes in the community as a philanthropist, benefiting area causes and honoring military service.
Thursday at Grand View Lodge in Nisswa, Mills was recognized by the Brainerd Lakes Area Community Foundation Board of Directors and Community Giving as its 2017 Award in Philanthropy winner before a packed house of friends and well-wishers at the Gull Lake Center. The nomination for Mills came from Ruth Gmeinder, BLACF Board of Directors, and Bruce Buxton, family friend.
Mills' charitable giving includes many area organizations and causes, from those benefiting the larger community to individual kindness, like anonymously paying for veterans' meals in restaurants. Mills is quick to say he was simply fortunate to come from a family with prime examples in his father and grandmother of the importance of hard work and believing in honesty and integrity. In his nomination, Buxton said Mills' father and grandmother set the bar high, but Mills cleared it and raised it even higher for himself and the next generation.
"Stew loves people ... to be with them, talk to them and help and support them," Buxton stated. "... He is an example we should all follow and emulate, but it will be a challenge for anyone trying to fill his shoes."
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