Miller, Neeb honored with Friend of Lacasa award
ELKHART — Galen Miller was frank about his dismay with the shape of the country while accepting the Friend of Lacasa award Wednesday.
Miller, owner of Miller Poultry, and his wife, Sue Neeb, received the award at the organization's annual lunch. Lacasa CEO Jeremy Stutsman said the couple has supported housing initiatives and community revitalization efforts that helped shape the county over the years.
'Their impact speaks for itself. For decades, they have been pillars of generosity, service and dedication, not just for Lacasa but for countless organizations and projects throughout Elkhart County,' Stutsman said. 'They embody service leadership in the purest form.'
While accepting the award, Miller reflected on the state of the country at the moment. He expressed dismay at the level of disorder and the toll it can take.
'Some of us are not in a very good place, and personally I'm not in a very good place,' he said. 'With the chaos that's going on in my country right now, with the divisiveness that seems to be becoming the norm. I daresay, probably even a few of us in this very room own part of this divisiveness at times. So it's really hard to know where to go, and the easiest thing would be to just pull back. Just totally pull back.'
It would be easy to retreat to a cabin in the middle of nowhere, close your checkbook and turn off your phone, Miller said. But instead, he made a reference to the parable in Matthew 25 that holds a message about feeding the hungry and welcoming strangers.
'But I think we're asked to do more than that. I think there are some of us still, and hopefully there'll be enough of us, that still feel like we do things to 'the least of us,' to 'the least of them,'' he said. 'Thank you for what you do in the community and thank you that you give us a way to help support 'the least of us.''
It's a lesson he said he learned from his father, who was once driven to tears because he wanted to support a non-profit that came to their door but didn't have the money to spare.
'He was feeling so bad that he had nothing to give. As a 10- or 12-year-old, that really made an impact. So over the years we've tried to give. And we know that, especially in this time, we still have to stay open. We still have to engage. We still need to try to find some balance in the center,' Miller said. 'Whether it's governmental, whether it's business, whether it's non-profits. We've got to work together somehow, folks. It's just driving me crazy.'
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