Business icon, champion of civics education honored

The Jack Miller Family Foundation website describes its founder in three terms: “Serial entrepreneur. Philanthropist. Great American success story.”

The 95-year-old founder of office-supplies giant Quill Corp., which was purchased by Staples in 1998, can add another citation to his long list of accomplishments: recipient of The American Legion’s Distinguished Service Medal. He received the organization’s most prestigious award Tuesday at the 105th National Convention of The American Legion Tuesday in New Orleans.

The recognition was not in honor of his remarkable business achievements but for his passion and dedication to the cause of teaching young people civics, American history and pride in U.S. citizenship.

“During the course of my business careers, I have received a number of honors, but this is by far, by far the best,” he told thousands in the New Orleans Convention Center. “The reason that this honor is so meaningful to me is because one of the reasons that you have for giving this honor to someone is – and I’m quoting you now – ‘to recognize individuals and organizations that have performed outstanding service to the nation.’ Individuals and organizations. So, on accepting this award, I do so both as an individual and for the Jack Miller Center, an organization dedicated to reintroducing and reinforcing the teaching of America’s founding principles and history throughout our educational system, from K-12 through college.”

Over the last 20 years, he explained to the crowd, the Jack Miller Center for Teaching Our Founding Principles and History has built a network of more than 1,200 professors on more than 300 college campuses who teach their own students as well as high school educators “so they can better teach their students.”

Miller explained that the center’s work “aligns perfectly with the amazing programs that you folks have in your constitutional speech contest, your Boys State program that goes on to the Boys Nation program and your (American Legion Auxiliary) Girls State program that goes on to the Girls Nation program. You’re doing amazing work with these programs, reaching many thousands of young people every year. And your American Legion Baseball program and Shooting Sports program bring these people closer together and closer to your mission. It occurred to me that we could partner with you to continue the good education that you have started with these young people.”

He said the Jack Miller Center could build on the Legion’s work by connecting youth program participants with “a vast array of material that we have on our website about our founding principles, about our history, about western civilization and also invite them to participate in podcasts and other activities that we have.”

The foundation’s mission counters what many young people are taught today, he explained. “Our young people often are not only not being taught about what makes this country so great, but in far too many cases, they’re being taught that America is not such a great country. Instead of building on what we have achieved, they want to tear it down and start with something else.”

Miller said there is a “growing movement in this country, a pushback, to once again teach our young people what a wonderful country this is – the freedoms and the opportunities that it gives to each of us. You all served to protect us from our external enemies. Now, it is time to protect us from those from within, who wish to change the kind of country that America is.”

Like many speakers during the national convention, Miller applied the idea behind the Legion’s Be the One mission to prevent veteran suicide, but in reference to the need to “reassert the values and the political traditions that have made America the strong, innovative nation that it has been for the last 250 years. The theme of this annual American Legion meeting is to ‘Be the One.’ Yes, be the one who helps your fellow veterans if they have problems. But I’m also asking you to be the one who helps to bring back the teaching of civics and real American history in our school systems so that young people can grow up to be proud Americans.”

Legionnaires can be the ones to call upon their school districts, local and state politicians to “make sure that your schools have a solid civics and history program,” he said.

Miller told the crowd that the center and the Legion can work together and “once again teach our young people why they should cherish what our founders gave us – freedoms and opportunities based on our own hard work. It is critical that these young people learn about that vision in our Declaration of Independence. That’s the vision for our country, that all men are created equal, and all are entitled to their life, liberty and their pursuit of happiness.”