St. Monica is the patron saint of patience and the mother of another patient saint, her son, St. Augustine. And we have the Old Testament story about “the patience of Job.” Today we introduce another person blessed with patience – Brian James Millsaps.
Brian Millsaps
The man some troopers call “Saps” has a 28-year career in law enforcement He’s not a patron saint, but he is a Tennessee Highway Patrol (THP) trooper … with patience galore. April 2023 is his first-anniversary with the THP, the fulfillment of what was an almost lifelong dream he never stopped chasing or dreaming about. After beginning his career in 1995 with the Vonore Police Department in Monroe County, he applied to the THP for first time. He was not hired.
Here is a quick look at the progression of his career:
- 1995 – 2004: Vonore Police Dept.
- 2004 – 2006: Tellico Plains Police Dept.
- 2006 – 2008: Monroe County Sheriff’s Office
- 2008 – 2013: Tellico Plains PD
- 2013 – 2022: Monroe County Sheriff’s Office
- 2022 – Tennessee Highway Patrol
His initial application to the THP was in 2000. Between 2000 and 2016 he kept chasing the dream. He applied 10 more times. He knew he was getting older each time he was rejected. He gave up – almost.
The 12th time was the charm. “I was worried about my age being a problem and I had a family, but I never fully gave up on it,” he said. “I didn’t try for almost six years but in 2021 something told me to apply one more time. Not sure what it was. I had not lost hope. It goes to show that you should never give up on something you really want.”
The last application was at the end of November 2021. He went through the process in Nashville – a complete physical, a psychological exam, plus several interviews and tests. He’ll never forget the day – April 5, 2022 – nor the email that popped into his inbox informing him he had been accepted and hired. The dream became real.
“I got excited as you can imagine. I also got nervous and scared all at the same time. I had to keep reading the email. It was going to happen,” he said. “I was 44 then and I knew I had to go and live in Nashville for 10 weeks at the THP Academy. It was going to be tough on the family, but we survived.”
He and wife Beth, a nurse, have two children – their daughter, Bailey, is 6. Their little boy, Bennett, who is 3, was born with spina bifida. Bennett can’t walk without braces and they have to work different shifts to be there for him. That was why he used the word “tough.”
Millsaps is Monroe County through and through. Reared in the Toqua Community near Fort Loudon State Park, he graduated from Vonore High School in 1994. He began working at the Vonore PD the next year. And today this on-road trooper in Troop D, tall at 6-4, works his home county along with Blount and Sevier counties. “I’ve been running around these roads since I was a teenager and there’s not a whole lot of the county I don’t know like the back of my hand. Working traffic is my favorite part of the job.”
This past Thursday Millsaps and other troopers in Knoxville’s Dist. 1 were in Nashville at the state capitol to help with the protests aimed at the state Legislature. He worked his “beat” on Friday and this past weekend was in Bristol working traffic at the NASCAR races.
The roads he works routinely include I-75, State Highway 68, U.S. 411, State Highway 165, State Road 72, U.S. Highway 11 and State Road 165. “To be a trooper you have to do traffic enforcement, investigate crashes, help disabled motorists, assist the local law enforcement agencies, and go where we are needed,” he said. “I treat people like I want to be treated.”
Why was the THP his dream? “I’m very proud to put that uniform on every day. It’s special for me. It truly is a family and we really do take care of one another. I love and respect the professionalism of the THP, our high standards and everyone I work with,” Millsaps explained. “I absolutely love being a Tennessee state trooper. I love my family, our kids and the THP. Life is good.”
Benjamin Franklin put it this way: “He that can have patience can have what he will.”
Tom King has been the editor of newspapers in Texas and California and also worked in Tennessee and Georgia.