Golden angel wings in a large frame greet visitors as they enter Jan Miller’s home. “Someone gave them to me because they said I was an angel,” Jan explains. Many in the Pensacola area agree she is a divine treasure.
Her palatial home is just over the Florida line, in Lillian, Alabama. It is filled with artwork and photos that document her years of philanthropy, and her heart for giving and volunteering, but it is a tiny basket that she chooses to display. One of her hobbies is knitting. She knitted a soft pink baby’s blanket and a delicate infant's sweater for a local non-profit's Spring event. She added a children's book about unicorns. It is fitting because, like an unicorn, she is unique. “The value is $150 dollars,” Jan remarks. She admits that the gift is in the lower range of her typical donation. The high-end is a three million dollar donation to Pensacola State College in 2018. The funds will be used to build a new building near the student center.
Jan believes generosity is ingrained in her: “It came from my parents who taught an at early age that it's important to give back when you have blessings.” She adds, “It's important to give back to the community in which you live.”
Jan followed her husband Ron to Pensacola in 1996. Originally from Louisville, Kentucky, she moved from Washington D.C. after retiring from the banking industry. She had worked for several Fortune 500 companies. Jan quickly became a leader in the Pensacola community. She’s lost count of the number of boards she has served on and how many organizations she has donated her time to.
The Pensacola Women’s Alliance names a few in her bio including WSRE-TV Foundation Board & Chair, Sacred Heart Women’s & Children’s Hospital, West Florida Hospital, Take Stock in Children, Saenger Redevelopment Committee, Covenant Hospice Foundation, Pensacola State College Foundation, Pensacola Opera, Pensacola Women’s Alliance Board & President, and the Greater Pensacola Chamber of Commerce HR Roundtable. Jan adds she is also a founding member of the Pensacola Bay Area IMPACT 100, and in the past two years has been named “Philanthropist of the year” by polls of her peers in two local magazines. She was humbled to get a standing ovation. “My husband says he’s really proud of me!”
Getting accolades comes as a surprise to Jan because she is just doing what she loves. Her eyes brighten when she describes the place where her heart is, the Pensacola Opera. “My mother just loved Opera. I was listening to it before I was speaking.” Signed posters line the hallway in her house as a reminder of her years as board president which was 1999 through 2006. Jan was elected as Emeritus Trustee in 2009. She feels her biggest contribution is helping establish the Artists in Residence program which is now called “The Jan Miller Studio Artist Program”. The program involves bringing singers in for educational programs. Thousands of 4th graders have taken a field trip to the Seanger Theater over the years to see operas like “Little Red Riding Hood” or “The Three Little Pigs." “When we started this is the early 2000’s, there were only programs in Houston, Santa Fe and Philadelphia.” Jan was proud to add Pensacola to that list.
It warms her heart to know that children and community members have been exposed to cultural experiences that many would miss without these programs. Much of her philanthropy targets education. "It's like what you see at The Pace Center for Girls. You see them get a leg up.” She adds, “When I think about the poverty level in Pensacola, I think of the people who could get out of poverty if they could just get a good education”.
At 78, Jan has no plan on retiring from her volunteer work. She exercises daily and gets up at 4:00 am to get started on the day. She attributes her ability to accomplish so much to being highly organized. “I get up early and on the computer before the phone starts ringing!” She smiles. A typical day might be back-to-back appointments on the hour, but friends believe it is more than just good organizational skills that make Jan outstanding.
Those gorgeous angel wings in the doorway are a symbol of someone with an extraordinary gift for giving. Like her beloved opera music, her passion for giving is timeless.
It's important to give back to the community in which you live.
