Personal Profile
I was born in Georgetown, Washington D.C. in 1956. My family moved back to Warren County and reopened the farmhouse in Bethel, Virginia a few years later. I graduated from Warren County High and Lord Fairfax and received my formal education during my service with the Federal Government. I came on board with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Middle East Division in 1980 as an Engineering Technician. As the area of responsibility expanded into Africa, Europe and Russia it became "The Transatlantic Program Center" currently located in Winchester, Virginia. The division of the Corps of Engineers is responsible for all overseas military designs and construction for those localities. While in CONUS I rotated between two directorates. I began on the technical side as a Civil Engineering Draftsman, moved into Project Management for several years, then back to the technical side where I wrote construction specifications and contract special clauses. My remaining years were served back in Project Management.
During my tenure I deployed on a variety of OCONUS assignments.
In 1989 I served 5 months in Bahrain upon the Corps of Engineers completion of the design and construction of Shaik Isa Airbase. I was assigned as the Quality Control Rep for the installation's furniture contract for the base quarters.
In 1991 I was a member of Desert Storm's "Kuwait Emergency Recovery Office" advance party made up of 21 Corps of Engineer Personnel sent to Dhahran, Saudi Arabia. We served on the "Contractor Selection Board" for awarding contracts for the emergency repairs of Kuwait's infrastructure.
When the ground war ended, the U.S. Military escorted the advance party into Kuwait along with 100 Kuwaitis of the Kuwait Ministries that had been out of Country during the occupation. I was assigned as a "Life Cycle Project Manager" to emergency road repairs for delivery of food and medical supplies into the Country. I later moved info "Facilities" and the "Kuwait Airport" Divisions.
I was teamed with one Kuwaiti of the Ministry and one U.S. Military escort. Our mission was to assess the damage and write contracts and specifications. Within days, and sometimes hours, the contracts were awarded for Contractor mobilization where we then performed the Quality Control in the field until completion. Hundreds of Corps of Engineer personnel joined us over the next several months. My tour lasted 8 months.
My assignments were also in CONUS.
I was on the Corps of Engineers "Emergency Operations Center" team that FEMA contracted for National Disaster Assistance. Each federal employee was teamed with a State and County representative. I responded to several disasters including Hurricane Andrew, Hurricane Iniki, Typhoon Omar, Alabama floods and tornadoes, and Oklahoma floods. Each team wrote Disaster Survey Reports in the field with cost estimates of the damage. This documentation assists FEMA in determining when a State qualifies for National Disaster Relief Fund and the President can declare the locality a National Disaster. I also served as a Quality Control Rep on several disasters after the Contractors were on board.
So how did I end up in Real Estate?
I always had an interest
in real estate and since the Corps had provided me a background in
contracting and new construction it seemed a likely interest to
pursue. I obtained my Real Estate license in 1993. In 1995 I began
managing a developer's sales office for land sales and new
construction. As the market became stronger and the sales and
construction were nearing completion in the development, I
started considering future options.
So, I struggled with a difficult decision.
On one hand, I was employed by the most prestigious engineering firm in the world, which provided many opportunities for travel and experience, and I only had 7 years remaining towards full 30 - year retirement.
On the other hand, I had reached the top of my field as an engineering technician and had grown to enjoy the world of Real Estate.
In 2002 I resigned from the Corps of Engineers with 23 years deferred retirement and opened Miller & Associates Realty, LLC.
On a personal note: I enjoy kayaking, hiking, horseback riding, reading and boating.
My mother Florence Miller resides in Warren County and is retired from the CIA in Washington, my brother Robert Miller owns Miller Trucking and my sister, Vickie Henry is a Realtor with Miller & Associates Realty.
