Larry H. Miller Group of Companies 2011 Year in Review Video. Created by our ad agency, Saxton|Horne Advertising.

TIME AND ALLY FINANCIAL HONOR MURRAY DEALER

Karen Gail Miller Wins National Recognition for Community Service and  Industry Accomplishments at NADA Convention

(New York, NY, November 16, 2011) – The nomination of Karen Gail Miller, owner of Larry H. Miller Toyota Murray in Murray, Utah, for the 2012 TIME Dealer of the Year award was announced today by TIME.

Miller is one of a select group of dealers from across the country who will be honored at the 95th annual National Automobile Dealers Association (NADA) Convention & Exposition in Las Vegas on February 4, 2012. The announcement of this year’s nominees was made by Kim Kelleher, worldwide publisher of TIME, and Tim Russi, executive vice president, North American Operations, for Ally Financial.

“Auto dealers have a tremendous impact on the vitality and strength of communities across the U.S.,” said Russi. “Ally is proud to support these extraordinary dealers who are truly making their communities better places to live and work.” As part of its support for the program, Ally will make charitable contributions to local community causes on behalf of all 50 nominated dealers across the United States. In addition, the 2012 national TIME Dealer of the Year winner will receive a $10,000 contribution for a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization of his or her choice. To celebrate the valuable contributions of dealers across the U.S., Ally has also launched a digital hub (allybizhero.com) featuring engaging content celebrating auto dealers and their philanthropic achievements.

The TIME Dealer of the Year award is one of the automobile industry’s most prestigious and highly coveted honors. Recipients are among the nation’s most successful auto dealers who must also demonstrate a long-standing commitment to community service. Miller, 68, was chosen to represent the New Car Dealers of Utah in the national competition – one of only 50 auto dealers, from 17,000 nationwide, nominated for the 43rd annual award. The award is sponsored by TIME Magazine in association with Ally, and in cooperation with NADA. A panel of faculty members from the Ross School of Business at the University of Michigan selects one finalist from each of the four NADA regions and one national Dealer of the Year.

“All of the awards that I have received were possible because of the success of our companies that began with a single Toyota dealership in Murray, Utah,” says nominee Miller. “We now provide meaningful work to more than 4,000 full-time and more than 3,000 part-time employees in 16 states.”

Miller is a Salt Lake City native who graduated from West High School in 1962 and attended the University of Utah. She worked at Mountain Bell Phone Company as an information officer and service assistant manager before moving with her husband, Larry H., and their family to Colorado so her husband could pursue a career in the automotive industry in 1970. He worked his way up from parts manager to operations manager for five Toyota dealerships. In 1979, they returned to Salt Lake City to launch their own business, and Larry H. Miller Toyota in Murray, Utah, was born. Today, the Larry H. Miller Group of Companies operates 18 different automotive brands under 44 dealerships in seven western states.

“From its start as a single-dealership operation, the business has grown over the past 32 years into one of the largest privately owned group of companies in the nation,” says Miller who, following Larry’s death in 2009 and prior, has played a significant role in the success and development of the business. Her children also work in various aspects of the company, which includes the Utah Jazz basketball team, Fanzz sports apparel and Megaplex Theatres.

Miller has received numerous awards and honors for her philanthropic work, including an Honorary Doctorate from Salt Lake Community College; Outstanding Women in Scouting from Boy Scouts of America, Great Salt Lake Council, and Most Influential Sports Figure in Utah from The Salt Lake Tribune. She is most proud of the Co-Entrepreneur of the Decade award she received in 2010 from Mountain West Capital Network because, she says, “the entire Larry H. Miller Group of Companies and its 77 core businesses were founded on the premise of free enterprise and entrepreneurship.”

As trustor of the Larry H. and Gail Miller Family Foundation, she oversees an organization that benefits religious, scientific, literary and educational initiatives within the U.S. In addition, Larry H. Miller Charities is a nonprofit foundation, supporting children’s health and education programs, and the Larry H. Miller Education Project promotes effective teaching and learning by offering intensive professional development seminars for Utah’s teachers and supplemental programs for students.

Miller believes in giving back to her employees, too. “An additional benefit we are able to provide to all fulltime employees who have been with the company for more than two years is college tuition and books for their children so that they can earn their undergraduate degrees and become productive members of society,” she explains. “Over the past 15 years, we have assisted more than 3,000 students.”

Nominated for the TIME Dealer of the Year Award by Craig Bickmore, executive director of the New Car Dealers of Utah, Miller, whose husband Larry passed away, has five children and 24 grandchildren.

January 2011

Dear Friends,

On behalf of Earl Black and my family, I would like to express sincere gratitude for all of the expressions of love and support in the wake of Sherry’s death on November 30. Your prayers and kindness have brought comfort in a very dark and difficult time.

During the last month I have personally experienced the worst and best in personal interaction, and one of the biggest lessons I’ve learned is the importance of being good to one another.

Sherry’s death, and the horrific nature of it, has had a far reaching negative impact on many lives and caused enormous grief. Fortunately, there have been countless individuals who have helped mitigate that suffering through their condolences, prayers, service, and friendship. As a family, we are thankful to all of you who have sent cards and flowers, and messages of love and support. Please know that you have made a difference.

My hope is that each of us will make an effort every day to be a little more tolerant of our differences, a little quicker to lighten others’ burdens, and more willing to exert whatever influence we may have to make the world a kinder and better place.

May peace and love prevail in 2011 and always.  Happy New Year.

Sincerely,

Greg Miller

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SALT LAKE CITY (July 28, 2010) – CEO of the Larry H. Miller Group of Companies, Greg Miller, announced today the appointment of Roger Miller as Chief Technology Officer and David Carr as Chief Information Officer. 

“I am pleased to announce these changes to our senior management team in an effort to better streamline our business operations and, as a result, to better serve our customers,” said Greg Miller.

Roger Miller previously served as Chief Information Officer and has held various positions within the organization for 25 years.  In his new role as Chief Technology Officer, Miller will focus on cutting-edge solutions that deliver exciting new customer experiences and revenue streams.

Prior positions include information technology manager at Landcar Management, where he created and implemented the first local area network and coordinated efforts toward a common chart of accounts.  He also automated the Profit Improvement Analysis report system. Miller also

spearheaded systems development for Megaplex Theatres in the areas of Web ticketing, automated box offices (kiosks), gift cards and payment systems.  He was responsible for systems design and development at Miller Motorsports Park, a state-of-the-art racing facility in Tooele, Utah, and implemented a radio frequency identification (RFID) system (WhereNet) that is used to track vehicle inventory at LHM auto dealerships.

Miller is a recipient of the Larry H. Miller Management Excellence Award and graduate of the Larry H. Miller Leadership Institute.  He currently serves on the board of directors of Landcar Life Insurance and Landcar Casualty, and is a member of the Larry H. Miller Group of Companies governing board.  He also sits on advisory boards for both Radiant Systems and Automated Data Processing (ADP) and is the chairman of the board for the Clark Planetarium.

David Carr is new to the company and as Chief Information Officer, he will focus on enterprise systems and internal company operations, process, and performance.

Prior to joining the Larry H. Miller Group of Companies, Carr held several executive roles at Omniture—managing software engineering and product development, client and professional services, company operations, IT, and corporate systems. Prior to Omniture, he was the CIO of Discovery Research Group and has also worked in technical consultant and project manager roles for startups, financial companies, and government organizations. Carr holds an MBA in Information Systems and Bachelor’s degree in Economics, both from Brigham Young University.

The Bridge Builder

An old man, going a lone highway,

Came, at the evening, cold and gray,

To a chasm, vast, and deep, and wide,

Through which was flowing a sullen tide.

The old man crossed in the twilight dim;

The sullen stream had no fears for him;

But he turned, when safe on the other side,

And built a bridge to span the tide.

“Old man,” said a pilgrim, near,

“You are wasting strength with building here;

Your journey will end with the ending day;

You never again must pass this way;

You have crossed the chasm, deep and wide-

Why build you the bridge at the eventide?”

The builder lifted his old gray head:

“Good friend, in the path I have come,” he said,

“There followeth after me today

A youth, whose feet must pass this way.

This chasm, that has been naught to me,

To that fair-haired youth may a pitfall be.

He, too, must cross in the twilight dim;

Good friend, I am building the bridge for him.”

Will Allen Dromgoole