Mike Mills, a pioneer of tourism, will be recognized as the 2026 Ozarks Ambassador at the North Arkansas College Foundation Evening on the Plaza event for his public service benefiting Harrison and the region.
Established in 1990, the Ozarks Ambassador Award is presented annually to someone who has represented northern Arkansas with distinction in one or more of the following fields: agriculture, finance, medicine, education, the arts, politics, law, business, social services, the ministry, or industry.
Mr. Mills will be honored during the Foundation’s annual Evening on the Plaza dinner on Thursday, October 15, 2026, at 6:30 p.m. in the Signature Bank Community Room. The dinner will be preceded by a reception at 6:00 p.m. in the atrium.
For 50 years, Mike Mills has been paddling, hiking, flying, promoting, and championing the natural beauty of Arkansas.
What began with a love of the outdoors has grown into a five-decade career that has helped shape Arkansas’ tourism industry and introduced millions of visitors to the Buffalo National River and the Ozarks.
“I floated the Buffalo for the first time in 1965,” Mills said. “The impression those bluffs made on my never left. When I graduated from college, I wanted to do what I loved for a living not just one week a year. I managed Lost Valley Lodge for someone else and then they tried to sell it to me for twice what they paid for it, I just went down the road and started Buffalo Outdoor Center (BOC).”
Mills, who celebrated 50 years of BOC during Poncafest on Aug. 1, 2026, founded The Wilderness Co. in 1974 while attending graduate school at the University of Arkansas. Two years later, in 1976, he founded BOC, which would eventually expand in 1985 to become Arkansas’ first log cabin resort.
Over the past five decades, Mills estimates he has worked more than 200,000 hours in tourism and helped serve more than 14 million guests. His businesses have generated more than $1.2 million in tourism tax revenue, while he has personally contributed more than $50,000 to the Tourism Development Foundation.
But the numbers only tell part of the story.
Born June 21, 1950, at the Army hospital at Fort Knox, Kentucky, Mills grew up on a farm west of Lowell, Arkansas. He graduated from Rogers High School in 1968 and served two years in the United States Marine Corps from December 1969 to December 1971. He graduated from Hendrix College in 1974, where he was recognized in Who's Who in American Colleges and Universities.
His career has been connected to Arkansas' rivers, mountains, and outdoor recreation industry. Mills served as Arkansas' Director of Tourism for Arkansas Parks and Tourism from 1982 to 1986 and has served on numerous state, regional and national tourism and outdoor recreation boards.
His service includes 40 years on the Tourism Development Foundation Board; 36 years with the Arkansas Travel Council, including service as president; 22 years with the Ozark Mountain Region board, including president; and 24 years on the Buffalo River Foundation board, including president.
He also served on the Arkansas Parks, Recreation and Travel Commission from 2000 to 2018 and chaired the commission in 2015. His national service includes two years on the board of the Travel Industry Association of America, four years with Travel South USA, including president, and 24 years on the board of America Outdoors, including serving as president from 2009 to 2015.
He was a charter member of Scenic Highway 7 and the Professional Paddlesports Association, where he later served as president. He was an instructor trainer for the American Canoe Association during the 1970s and 1980s, served as president of the Arkansas Hospitality Association in 2002 and was a founding member of Arkansas Resorts.
In 1980, Mills was appointed a commissioner of Arkansas Scenic Rivers. He later became Cabinet Secretary of the Arkansas Department of Parks, Heritage, and Tourism in 2023 and continues to serve the state's outdoor recreation and tourism interests.
His connection to the Buffalo River has also included moments of service and adventure. Mills helped rescue seven people during floods and received a National Park Service Search and Rescue Award Citation in 2004.
He has paddled the Buffalo River with two governors, two U.S. senators, two first ladies and numerous other dignitaries. Through the "Arkansas Is a Natural" hot air balloon program, he has completed more than 1,000 flights in 10 states and flown two Arkansas governors.
For decades, Mills has also helped tell the story of Arkansas to audiences far beyond the state. He has hosted scores of photographers, videographers, writers and editors, and his work and BOC have been featured in publications including National Geographic, Southern Living, Outside, Canoe, Better Homes and Gardens, Family Circle, Midwest Living, Living Arkansas, Arkansas Life, Arkansas Wild and AY, as well as numerous newspapers and magazines. He has produced a photo book and had photographs featured on national and regional magazine covers.
Mills was instrumental in bringing new outdoor recreation opportunities to Arkansas, including Arkansas' first zip-line canopy tour in 2011.
His many honors include the Harrison Chamber of Commerce Tourism Person of the Year in 2000, the Jim DeVito Award from the Ozark Mountain Region in 2008, the Silver Cup for Tourism Award from the Arkansas Hospitality Association in 2013, Arkansas Business' Small Business of the Year award in 2013, the Arkansas Wild Legend honor in 2015, the Exemplary Service Award from America Outdoors in 2015 and induction into the Arkansas Tourism Hall of Fame in 2018.
He received the Hendrix Odyssey Award for 2019-2020 from the Hendrix College Board for professional and leadership development. In 2018 and 2019, he was named one of Arkansas Business Publishing Group's Arkansas 250. He also served as a guest editor of Paddling Magazine in March 2016 and as a guest lecturer at Compton Gardens for the Neal Compton Celebration in 2017.
In more recent years, Mills has continued to contribute to the development of outdoor recreation in Arkansas. He served on an advisory board for a new outdoor recreation department in 2021, participated on an advisory committee for the Ozarks Festival in Washington, D.C., became a member of the Natural State Initiative in 2023 and was appointed Cabinet Secretary of the Arkansas Department of Parks, Heritage, and Tourism that same year.
In 2026, Mills received the Blue Hole Canoe Award for being its No. 1 buyer of all time.
Throughout his career, Mills has remained grounded in the activities that started it all.
"I love canoeing, hiking, camping and collecting," Mills said. When asked if he could take one person in the entire world canoeing, who it would be, he replied “My wife, Rhonda.”
His family has been an important part of that journey. Mills has been married to Rhonda Mills for 26 years, whom he describes as his “soul mate.” Rhonda has two stepdaughters, Libby Mathews and Hailey Albers, while Mills has a stepson, Braden Townsley. Together, they have four grandchildren — Jayden, Cadence, Hana, and River.
From a farm west of Lowell to the banks of the Buffalo River and into the highest levels of Arkansas tourism leadership, Mills' five decades have been defined by a simple connection to the outdoors and a determination to share it with others.
"Not bad for a canoe operator," Mills said.
Craig Campbell will receive the 2026 Pioneer Impact Award at the dinner for his contributions to UA Northark and Jennifer Leatherman, director of Engineering and Technology at J.B. Hunt Transport Services will be presented with the 2026 Distinguished Alumna Award.
Tickets are $60 each or a table of six for $360 and can be purchased online at https://secure.qgiv.com/for/eveningontheplaza/event/aneveningontheplaza/
Guests should RSVP before October 8, 2026. For more information contact Micki Somers at (870) 391-3242.