September 29, 2009

Now, those who have worked with Miller and benefitted from his service are saying “thank you” as Miller prepares to retire, effective September 30, 2009. Many of them made plans to gather for a reception in Miller’s honor, at the Agricultural Resource Center he helped create, on the afternoon of September 29.

“I can think of few jobs that have the potential to be more fulfilling than being a County Extension Agent,” Miller said. “On a daily basis, I had the opportunity to help people help themselves by providing quality, research-based information. Additionally, since Cooperative Extension prides itself on keeping staff on the cutting edge, opportunities for professional and intellectual growth were virtually unlimited. I also had the liberty to experiment with new techniques through on-farm demonstrations without experiencing the stress that farmers have when experimenting with new ideas that don’t produce increased profits. It has been a privilege to work with farmers, landscapers, and others who are good stewards of Catawba County’s natural resources and farmland.”

A native of Winston-Salem, North Carolina, Miller earned a Bachelor’s Degree in Horticultural Science from North Carolina State University. He later earned a Master’s Degree in Horticultural Science, also from N.C. State. He worked as a Horticultural Agent in Forsyth County from 1981 to 1988, before being named Cooperative Extension Director in Catawba County in 1989.

As Cooperative Extension Director, Miller led a staff that provides the services of the North Carolina Cooperative Extension, the outreach arm of the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences at N.C. State and the School of Agriculture at North Carolina A&T State University. Cooperative Extension offers educational programs for farmers, rural and urban residents, families, community and civic leaders, and youth. Programs are offered on aging, agriculture, natural resources policy and the environment, animal production and marketing systems, child care education and training, community and economic development, crop production and marketing systems, family and consumer economics, family and parents education, food and forest products manufacturing, food quality and safety, leadership and volunteer development, and marketing.

“Fred has done a stellar job for Catawba County over the past 20 years,” said Tom Lundy, Catawba County Manager. “He’s been a steady and positive presence as he’s presided over and led an organization that has gone through a great deal of change. He’s effectively led and managed the emergence of regional extension agents serving more than one county; helped guide the creation of Keep Catawba County Beautiful; and been an important part of the county’s sustainability focus, including the hiring of the County’s first Environment and Natural Resources Agent. He embraced early the challenge of focusing his budget on outcomes as part of the County’s innovative and award-winning Reinventing Budget program. His leadership locally, in North Carolina and nationally has been a reflection of his commitment to his profession and the pride he feels about Cooperative Extension, and I thank him for his service to Catawba County.”

Miller was asked to consider what he sees as the most important accomplishments of his career.

“One of the major accomplishments of my tenure with Catawba County was working with the Board of Commissioners and other County officials to renovate the former County Administration Building into the current day Agricultural Resources Center opened in 1992,” Miller said. “Catawba County is fortunate to have had progressive County Commissioners, management staff, and department heads who strive to keep the best interests of our citizens in the forefront of their day-to-day decisions. I have enjoyed working with these leaders and learned much from observing them in action.”

We became a ‘reinventing’ department during my tenure, one of the County departments that agrees to a set of outcomes each year and is allowed greater flexibility with funding in exchange for meeting those outcomes,” Miller continued. “Our Extension staff successfully met more than 95% of our outcomes during my tenure. Working with Extension Directors in surrounding counties, helping to create one of the first and most successful Area Extension Agent teams in the state, is definitely a highlight. As we made the move from being agents serving only one county to agents serving a wider area, Catawba County was one of the leaders. In later years, I’m pleased we were able to create an Environment and Natural Resources Agent position and I enjoyed helping various agents in this role with the organization of Keep Catawba County Beautiful and the Catawba County Green Team.”

Miller also mentioned his work in training more than 250 Extension Master Gardener Volunteers and working with them to answer gardening questions and conduct training programs; a partnership with local landscape professionals that developed the Foothills Landscape Management Association, one of only two such organizations in North Carolina; and representing Catawba County and his state while serving as the first President of the National Association of County Agricultural Agents from North Carolina and as President of the Joint Council of Extension Professionals.

Miller has taken an active leadership role in his profession on the local, state and national levels. He served in a number of offices of the National Association of County Agricultural Agents (NACAA), beginning as Southern Region Director from 2001 through 2003 and including a term as the Association’s president in 2008 and 2009. He served as President of the Joint Council of Extension Professionals in 2008 and 2009, and hosted a Southern Region Officer’s Workshop for that Council in 2003. He served as President of the North Carolina Association of County Agricultural Agents in 1996.

At home, he has served as Board Member and Choir Member at Abernethy Memorial United Methodist Church in Newton, and as Chair of the church’s Building Committee, is a member of Catawba Valley Community College’s Horticulture Advisory Committee, and is Secretary of the Catawba County Agricultural Extension Foundation. He served as Chairman of the Catawba County Employee United Way Campaign in 2000 and is a member of the Catawba County Partnership For Children’s Board of Directors.

One reflection of Miller’s successful career is the number of awards he has won on the state and national level. These include the NACAA Distinguished Service Award and Achievement Award, a 2004 NC State University Award for Excellence from the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, a 2005 North Carolina State Grange Search for Excellence Award, in the administration and leadership category, the 2006 Extension Leadership Award and a 2007-2008 Outstanding Extension Service Award.

Miller said a decision to offer early retirement by the State of North Carolina, which provides a majority of funding for Cooperative Extension, led to his retirement.

“My decision to retire was complicated because I had planned to work three more years,” Miller said. “But I decided to investigate the State’s ‘early out’ retirement offer and determined it was in my best financial interests to go ahead and retire early. I plan to recharge some personal batteries and take a few months to enjoy retirement before investigating future business and volunteer opportunities. My wife and I plan to continue residing in Catawba County and remain engaged in church and community activities.”

“Fred has been very instrumental on our administrative team,” said Dr. Deborah Crandall, West Central District Cooperative Extension Director, who provides administrative leadership and support to County Extension Directors and staff in 17 counties, including Catawba. “He has been very receptive to what I call situational leadership. Some people seem to only want to lead when everything is the way they want it to be. Situational leaders work well in any situation, and Fred has done an excellent job in situational leadership. He’s an excellent communicator and he also brought important national recognition to our state. North Carolina had never had a president of the National Association of County Agricultural Agents until Fred was elected to that office. He was able to balance being on the leadership level in Catawba County, linked with the district, with those national responsibilities. He helped us market North Carolina’s success stories in Cooperative Extension to our colleagues across the nation.”

“I feel very fortunate to have been a part of a highly professional and motivated Extension staff,” Miller concluded. “This staff is extremely capable in their respective subject matter areas. They ‘know their stuff’ and are an asset for Catawba County. They enjoy each others’ company and work well as a team; always willing to pitch in and help fellow staff members. There were very few days during my career where I didn’t look forward to going to work. On those few occasions, my staff always picked me up and helped accomplish what needed to be done. I’m also deeply appreciative of a loving family who not only tolerated my frequent absences from home and “workaholicism”, but embraced my national and local responsibilities and came to enjoy Extension work as much as I.”