Ryan Miller: Leading by Serving

Photo by Joey Brent.

Ryan Miller, a truly service-minded individual, leads his community through service in his roles with the Oxford Lafayette County Chamber of Commerce, the Center for Manufacturing Excellence (CME) and the College Hill Presbyterian Church.

Miller has been on the Chamber of Commerce Board since 2009 and is currently the Chairman of the Board. As the chairman, he has a front row view of the other leaders in the chamber who also serve the community well.

“Our board is made up of some absolutely selfless people who give unbelievable amounts of time and resources to serve in that capacity,” Miller said. “I get to just sit at the table and enjoy working with these people.”

Miller is passionate about the future of Oxford. He works to reach out to the community and help in anyway he can to grow Oxford, and he wants to see many more businesses come.

Photo by Joey Brent.

“I get excited when we bring new businesses to Oxford,” Miller said. “Giving people the opportunity to create their own business, to run their own business, to attract businesses to Oxford and Lafayette County that bring jobs, that bring tax revenue, that bring infrastructure… I just get excited about being a part of that.”

In many cases new businesses can mean the end for existing or smaller businesses but that is not how it works in Oxford. Miller believes that Oxford balances the small town feel with the bigger city amenities.

“Oxford maintains a balance between the Square and the small town and attracting new businesses,” Miller said. “That’s a delicate balance to strike and Oxford has done it really well.”

In addition to his community work Miller is the programs manager and assistant director of the CME at Ole Miss. He works tirelessly in this role by recruiting students and even teaching classes. Miller takes a break from his serious role once each semester by bringing his guitar and performing for his students.

“It’s a fun little thing I do at the end of the semester,” Miller said. “I play and let the students laugh at me.”

Through all of this work, Miller remains humble and simply proud to serve alongside others in the community. He also finds time to spend with his wife and his three children and to serve his church community as an elder at College Hill Presbyterian Church.

“My faith and my family are really important to me,” Miller said. “I try to use that in my relationship with students in a way that is not obtrusive or invasive or uncomfortable. For me, it is about trying to live out that faith.”

In all of his roles, especially with the Chamber of Commerce, Miller’s main goal is to lead and serve those around him.

“One of the points we were really wanting to drive for the chamber this year is service,” Miller said. “If we’re constantly looking to the person on our left or the person on our right, thinking how or what can I do to make their life better, how can I improve their life, we’re going to have a much more vibrant and rich community. The chamber is at the forefront of that, and I’m just excited to be along for the ride.”

Amy Goodin is a writer for HottyToddy.com. She can be reached at argoodin12@gmail.com.

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