Miller Family Message
Serving Our Communities
By Bryan Miller
S
pring signals the change to warmer
weather, longer days, and a sense of hope
and renewal. This time of year, I think of
service and our company’s annual Day of Service,
which we do in honor of my father, Larry H.
Miller. Service, often the quiet variety, was one
of his hallmarks, and we celebrate his “do good”
attitude each April 26 (his birthday) with acts of
service around the communities where we do
business. It’s a fitting tribute to our company’s
founder while continuing an important legacy
for the Group of Companies.
In 2013, when we were putting on paper
the values that make up the Larry H. Miller
Group, service was one that rose to the top.
It is the perfect companion to our other core
values of integrity, hard work, and stewardship.
Our annual Day of Service gives us a chance to
demonstrate all these values at once. We give
our word to the communities and organizations
around us that we’re committed to making a
difference and improving the world around
us. We work hard cleaning, raking, digging,
planting, painting, and more. We’re careful
stewards over the company resources used to
help with the projects and the funds donated to
the various organizations. And for a few hours in
April,* we serve.
Many of the businesses my parents started
or purchased were not driven by potential profit
but by the service that could be rendered through
them. One such example is Jordan Commons. The
property where the Megaplex Theatres at Jordan
Commons now sits was once a public school.
Jordan High School opened in 1914 and served
students in the area until 1996 when a new high
school was built. My father was approached by
the mayor of Sandy City to do something with the
large plot of land now vacated by the high school.
My father’s first thought was a park, but then the
idea of a movie and restaurant complex took hold;
he wanted to build something and give back to the
community.
The old Jordan High School building was
on the National Register of Historic places, but
it had fallen into disrepair over the years due to
the lack of funds in the school district to keep
it up to code. As old and worn out as it was, the
school was a community landmark and dear to
the hearts of many, especially alumni. Instead
“For us as a family and as
a company, service means
giving of yourself.”
of placing the restaurants and retail store fronts
along the high-traffic, high-visibility street, Larry
preserved the grand front entrance of the school,
keeping a promise made to the community.
Architecturally—inside and out—it is one of the
most unique movie-plexes in the country.
Since its opening more than 20 years ago,
the theatres, restaurants, and office spaces at
Jordan Commons have become landmarks for
family entertainment, delicious dining, premium
workplaces, and, yes, service to the community.
In addition to supporting independent
filmmakers, the theatres and surrounding
buildings provide meeting places for religious
and charitable organizations as well as the
headquarters of the Larry H. Miller Group of
Companies.
For us as a family and as a company, service
means giving of yourself. When you serve
someone, whether with your time, energy,
attention, or talents, you are giving a part of
yourself away with no expectation of anything
in return (though we all know we often come
away “richer” for having served). Quiet service,
the kind where you act on your own, without
any prompting or being asked, is where the
value of service shines and where giving of
yourself blossoms like a flower in springtime. ◆
Bryan Miller
12
LHM Winning Spirit March/April 2020
* Day of Service 2020 will be rescheduled due to COVID-19. Stay tuned.