Public service still on Miller’s agenda
Zell Miller is 84. But like his friend, elder statesman and fellow former governor Jimmy Carter, being out of public office doesn’t mean he’s done with public service by any means.
Wednesday marked the official launch of the Zell Miller Institute for Public Policy, described in a news release as an organization “promoting bipartisan solutions to the critical issues facing Georgia and encouraging stakeholders to work together to achieve results.”
The institute reportedly will encompass three separate divisions: a public policy division for bipartisan problem solving, an education foundation promoting careers in public service, and an “Action Fund” — essentially a PAC — which, according to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, will raise money for Georgia candidates. By what criteria these will be chosen for support, and in what elections, has yet to be announced.
It would be nearly impossible to argue that Zell Miller isn’t a worthy model of public service: He has been a mayor, lieutenant governor, two-term governor and U.S. senator.
“Zell has dedicated his life to serving the people of Georgia, and the Miller Institute will make sure that important work continues,” said former state First Lady Shirley Miller. “… We’re honored that many who helped make his time in office a great success have stepped forward once again to volunteer their time for this endeavor.”
The institute’s charter board of directors is indeed a distinguished array of dignitaries, including attorney and former state Sen. Pete Robinson of Columbus, who now chairs Troutman Sanders Strategies, an Atlanta lobbying organization. Former state Attorney General Thurbert Baker; Charlie Harman, who served as chief of staff to former Sens. Sam Nunn, Miller and Saxby Chambliss (speaking of bipartisan); former Bill Clinton deputy assistant Keith Mason; and former Sonny Perdue chief of staff Eric Tanenblatt are also members of this diverse leadership team.
The institute’s inaugural Miller Legacy Dinner is scheduled for Feb. 28, when retired University System of Georgia Chancellor Hank Huckaby (also a board member) will be presented the first Zell Miller Award for Distinguished Public Service. It’s a fitting start for an organization that promises to build on the living legacy of its namesake.
Honored, again
No surprise here: Bobby Howard, head baseball coach at Central High School in Phenix City and coach at Columbus High for 31 years, has been named to the National High School Baseball Coaches Hall of Fame.
The December induction of Howard and one other coach will bring the hall’s membership to 41, of which number Howard will be just the third Georgian. But the list of honors he’s accumulated for his spectacular career is already too long to catalogue here anyway. More than 900 wins, 12 state championships, two state coach of the year awards and nine GACA Class AAA coach of the year awards are a short list.
Frank Thomas of Columbus High, Auburn and the Chicago White Sox, in his induction speech at the National Baseball Hall of Fame, paid loving tribute to Bobby Howard. No surprise there, either.
This story was originally published January 4, 2017 at 2:28 PM with the headline "Public service still on Miller’s agenda."