 While she was not the first woman ever to be in the Tennessee Senate, she was the first woman ever to be a chairman of a committee (as enacted in her tenure).Senator Mildred Jolly Lashlee was Chair of the Public Utilities Committee 1945-1947 which was absorbed into Energy & Natural Resources Committee during Senator O'Brien's tenure.During her 22 years in the General Assembly, she was the chairperson for three committees