Cablefax The Magazine - July 2015 - 26

2015 Top Ops Awards
INDEPENDENT LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD
Ray Miller
Country Cablevision,
Carolina Mountain Cablevision
Talk to Ray Miller and you realize several
things: at 82, he's very sharp (Miller was
going into the offi ce every day up until a
year ago); he's a living monument to cable
(his memory is prodigious as are his various
collections); and he's had a remarkable life.
Yet his name is not widely known outside independent cable. True,
you can fi nd his oral history online at The Cable Center-in that
1999 interview Miller spoke presciently about the Internet and VoIP;
today he and son Randy are bringing fi ber to small towns in NC. Still,
this Cable Pioneer inexplicably is missing from cable's Hall of Fame.
Perhaps it's his humility. " Ray has more quiet integrity than anyone
I've ever known, " says Mike Pandzik, the former NCTC chief. Adds
ACA president & CEO Matt Polka, " Ray is one of the true gentlemen
of cable. " Notes Pandzik, " He's always there, off to the side,
but leading the pack in one advance after another. " Polka concurs:
" We tend to forget that people like Ray made this industry what it is
today. " Due respect to The Hall, " They've overlooked a great and deserving
candidate, " Pandzik concludes. Incidentally, some of Miller's
cable memorabilia resides at The Cable Center.
Born " poor " in NC, Miller as a child worked with his father fi xing
radios. In junior high-yes, he remembers his science teacher's
name-Miller began building radios. As a high school senior he
studied television the fi rst year it was offered. After graduation he
found work repairing televisions.
During the early 1950s, he read about cable in Popular Science (he
still has the article). Seeing a need in the NC mountains, in 1955 he
and his boss formed a cable company and bought hilltop property to
FAST FACTS
Fast Facts
uIn 2011 Miller received The Order of the Long Leaf Pine,
NC's highest award. Other recipients include: Maya Angelou,
Michael Jordan, Oprah Winfrey and Billy Graham.
uMiller's cable days in CA brought him into contact with
stars. " Jimmy Durante was one of the nicest people I ever
met, " he says, giving similar kudos to Debbie Reynolds,
Sammy Davis Jr, Bobby Darin, Brian Keith and Pat Buttram,
best known as Mr. Haney on " Green Acres. "
RADIO DAYS: Ray Miller (middle) repairs U.S. Army surplus
radios at Bladensburg (MD) Voc Tech HS, 1951.
erect a tower. Sadly, customers were few and banks balked. " I was
disgusted. " With coins for gas money in a coffee can- " we were
as poor as church mice " - the peripatetic Miller and his wife drove
west to Alaska, with a stop to see Hollywood.
En route, a hotel owner convinced Miller to ditch Alaska, promising
great opportunities in CA for a TV technician. Miller had three job
offers the next day; two paid $2/hour, the other $2.25. He took the
third offer.
With money coming in, the Millers saved $2/week; then more as
Ray also took a night job repairing TVs for $5/visit. Their plan was
to save enough to return to NC, buy a farm and perhaps a small
radio-TV shop.
While on a repair call (Ray still knows the address), a customer asked
Miller to call the cable TV company for her. The company was so
impressed with Miller's diagnosis of the repair that it offered him a job.
Tapping into his savings, Miller eventually formed a cable company
and built systems in the mountains of northern L.A. Later he did the
same in Nevada, Texas and Florida. In total, he has owned systems in
six states, had stakes in 68 and won more than 40 franchises.
We can't begin to list Miller's achievements during 60 years in cable,
but NCTC needs mentioning. " It's the best... no doubt about it, " he
says, raving about Pandzik and Frank Hughes, SVP, member services.
As NCTC chair, Miller expanded the co-op's purview beyond
programming to equipment. Another proud moment: Miller cast the
deciding vote at a CA Cable Association board meeting to hire a
youngster named Walter Kaitz. " The Lord has blessed me, " Miller
says today. Amen.
- Seth Arenstein
26
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July 2015
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