Greg Miller, President/CEO of NEARSports

That is a picture of Greg Miller, President/CEO of NEARSports, broadcasting at a game last fall. Greg passed away on Wednesday, May 5, 2010. He was 55 years old. He is survived by a son, Chris, daughter, Lindi, and his mom. I had only known Greg for a year, but I will always be indebted for what he did for me, both personally and professionally. I still remember the first conversation w/ him. It was in the late fall of 2008. As many of ya'll know, I was not broadcasting that year, and was going through many changes in my life, personally. My wife had moved out a month earlier, and I was adjusting to life as a single man. I was trying to not only find some normalcy in my life, plus, trying to make some extra money broadcasting. I had read that NEARSports had been sold and I contacted Greg to see if there were any broadcasts in north central Arkansas. Greg contacted me and we spoke for 30 minutes to an hour. I sensed the passion in his voice that he had as far as broadcasting and also for his family. Before he and I actually met, he and I had many phone conversations. We spoke a lot about high school sports, about the Badgers, about Greene County Tech, but we also spoke about life. See, one thing that Greg and I had in common was the fact that we were both/went through divorce. I learned a lot about Greg the announcer, but also learned a lot about Greg the person. No matter how many hours we worked, Greg was always, and I mean, always there for his kids. He was so proud of his son. Greg gushed with pride at the fact that Chris was attending Williams Baptist College, a school that Greg was very closely associated with. He was also very proud of Lindi. I can still remember a phone conversation in which his daughter had some of her friends over and you could hear them in the background. I still remember the day that we finally met. A two hour drive to Paragould and then trying to find NEARSports office. I still remember that voice when I walked in the front door. There was no doubt that it was indeed Greg. I can still picture all the momentos that were in his office: the posters, hats, pictures, etc. Greg Miller was just as passionate about sports and family in person as he was on the phone. I think that's what I'll always remember about him. I still remember Media Day, when he and I did a live broadcast of Media Day 2009, getting ready for football season. He was so complimentary of the facilities and the football program. You would've thought he lived in Beebe. The last contact that I had with Greg was about a month and a half ago. I told him to get ready because both the baseball and softball teams were going to be in the postseason and to get ready to get the approval from the AAA. I don't know what's going to happen with NEARSports, but I'll always remember Greg Miller. He took a chance on a temporarily retired play by play announcer and put me back in the booth. He always took the time to talk to me and to help me, whether it was trying to get my first internet broadcast going correctly, or just trying to pump me up. He did a lot for me personally and professionally and I'll never forget him. Thanks Greg!!