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Hank Mills First to Join AkSarBen Official Family FamilyOMAHA OMAHA Nebr May 3 Henry Hank Mills a busy little buckeroo who splits his time between race tracks rodeo arenas and his LaJunta Colo ranch is the first of the official family to join R A Leighs staff preparing for the May 20 opening of the AkSarBen races racesLast Last year was the first stint at the Oma ¬ ha oval for Mills who in the early 30s was one of the nations leading jockeys He was a patrol judge at AkSarBen last year but Judge Leigh has not announced what his duties will be at this years meeting meetingLike Like many other officials Mills came up through the ranks He rose from stable hand to exercise boy to jockey And then when he lost the inevitable battle of the pounds Hank became an official First though he spent some time as a rodeo con ¬ testant Late in the 1930s he broke his jaw aboard a plunging twisting Brahma bull in a San Francisco rodeo arena While recuperating he came to Omaha and served as assistant starter to AkSarBens regular starter Noel Chilcutt And since that time he has been starter at numerous tracks around the country countryFor For the past several years Mills has been the ace pickup man along with his robust partner Doug ODonnell for the famed Cremer Rodeo of Big Timber Mont He has provided many thrills at AkSarBens annual World Championship Roedo in Om ¬ aha each fall His wife Lou equally well known in the rodeo world is secretary for the Cremer Rodeos His brother George Mills is one of the worlds most famous rodeo clowns
