Cecil Miller Jr.

Inducted in 2008

Mar 3

Litchfield Park - Maricopa

Inducted in 2008

The scope of Cecil Miller's activities in and on behalf of agriculture is international. Born in Peoria, his parents, Cecil Sr. and Phyllis Hickey Miller, moved the family to Phoenix during his early years. Young Cecil attended Franklin and Kenilworth Elementary Schools, but it was at Phoenix Union High School that he started his community service, becoming the chapter president of the school's FFA. Seeking more education in his chosen field, he headed for Texas A&M, but after two years at the college, his father decided he should concentrate on Arizona ranching. He returned to the state and enrolled at the University of Arizona, and the rest, as they say, is history.

In 1962, Cecil was elected to the presidency of the Tolleson Community Farm Bureau. He was elected to the Salt River Project Board of Directors when they were looking at alternative water sources to supply the state.

"Eventually, they're going to bring salt water in," he said. "We first got to lookin' at that when I was at the SRP Board." Salt River is a freshwater river. During the following decade, he led an agricultural coalition to craft Arizona's Agricultural Labor Relations Act and defeated Caesar Chavez and the United Farm Workers' attempt to unionize Arizona's farms.

His work at the national level includes speaking and testifying on behalf of the American Farm Bureau, expanding agricultural trade opportunities, fundraising, advising on legal advocacy, and impacting policy on federal lands. He joined the American Farm Bureau Federation in 1975 and remained active through 1992, serving as the organization's vice president from 1980 through 1981. Under the direction of AFBF Presidents Grant, Delano, and Kleckner, Cecil served on trade missions to Israel, Switzerland, Russia, Japan, Denmark, and France.

Closer to home, several Arizona governors have enlisted Cecil to serve on their boards and commissions. He was a member of Governor Jack Williams' Land Use Study Commission, which examined unregulated development in rural Arizona and identified unscrupulous land developers, resulting in legislative action.

He was especially concerned about the domino effect of using the aquifers to supply water for new population centers. "There's water there. If they build on the other side of the White Tanks and tap into the Harquahala Aquifer, that will kill the conservation area by Wickenburg."

Governor Bruce Babbitt appointed Cecil as one of two agricultural representatives on the Groundwater Study Commission, which developed Arizona's landmark groundwater regulatory law. Babbitt also chose Cecil to serve on the Rangeland Advisory Committee, which resulted in the governor toning down his attacks on grazing on public lands.

Governor Fife Symington named Cecil to the State Compensation Fund Board of Directors, which set the direction for the State Fund of Arizona. Cecil was the leader in 1973 when agriculture was no longer exempt from protecting workers with workers' compensation. He worked with the State Fund to create a group dividend program that saved Farm Bureau employers over $20 million in workers' compensation insurance costs. The Farm Bureau's program became the model for other Arizona business groups.

The Arizona State Legislature's Navigable Streams Adjudication Commission is another place where Cecil's expertise has come into play. The Commission determined what streams were navigable when Arizona became a state. The study came about because of an environmental activists lawsuit and a court ruling that says if a waterway was navigable at statehood, it and the barriers belong to Arizona. They do not belong to the property owners who have held titles for generations. Cecil's long family history and relationships throughout the state bring much-needed history and perspective to the Commission's deliberations.

He has been a leader in groups and associations that work to bring water from the Colorado River into Central Arizona, improve trade and commerce with Mexico, spur economic and job growth in both rural and urban areas of Arizona, and identify and train the leaders of tomorrow.

As a livestock and cotton producer, Cecil served as a board member or advisor to local and national agricultural organizations. He was president of the Maricopa County Farm Bureau for two years, Arizona Farm Bureau for 28 years, Western Agricultural Insurance Company for 20 years, Farm Bureau Service Company of Arizona, Arizona Farm Bureau Marketing Association, and Multi States Insurance Development Corporation. He has also served as the vice president of Western Computer Service, Inc. and Western Farm Bureau Life Insurance Company.

Cecil has been involved with a California farming operation with their daughter Debbi and her husband, Ted Sheely. They worked for the National Aeronautic Space Administration (NASA), monitoring the pesticide and water needs of the 4000-acre operation using satellite images.

Miller's work in the agricultural field has garnered him numerous honors and awards, including an Honorary Doctor of Science from the University of Arizona. The U of A College of Agriculture gave him the Lifetime Achievement Award, the Extensionist of the Year, and the Distinguished Citizen Award. In 1979, the Arizona Farm Bureau honored him with the Distinguished Service to Agriculture Award, and in 2007, the Farm Bureau awarded him the American Farm Bureau Service Award. Progressive Farmer magazine named Cecil Miller its Man of the Year in Service to Agriculture in 1979. Future Farmers of America named him Man of the Year in Arizona Agriculture and presented him with their Alumni Award.

As if that wasn't enough, the Phoenix Elementary School District named him to its Hall of Fame and placed him on the Arizona School Boards Association Honor Roll for his service on the school board during his children's school years.

A rancher, businessman, and advocate for agriculture, Cecil is also a family man. He and his late wife Alzora have four children: Debbi, Cecily, Ellen, and Matt.