Deanne Miller

President/CEO, Miller Oil Foundation and Secretary/Treasurer, Miller Oil Company

• Board member of the National Symphony Orchestra
• Served as Board Member: Ronald McDonald Children’s Charity (grant’s committee member), Virginia Arts Festival (secretary), Contemporary Art Center of Virginia Beach (docent), Chrysler Museum (docent, co-chair).
• Member and supporter: Mowbray Arch Society, Masterpiece Society, Alice Davis Circle (25 years)

“The Miller Oil Foundation evolved from a dream. When I served on the Grant’s Committee for The Ronald McDonald House, every request touched my heart and I prayed that one day I would have the ability to do this kind of wonderful work personally. So when we founded The Miller Oil Foundation I saw my chance to help in my own way. When my son, daughter-in-law and granddaughter became board members my dream was truly complete – as their individual passions and contributions has taken The Miller Oil Foundation to a whole new level, reaching a range of needs in the community from children, to abused adults to homeless to the arts.”

— Deanne Miller

Deanne Miller has been a resident of the Tidewater area for the past 40 years. She and her husband Augustus (Gus) Miller started Miller Oil Company in 1977. Deanne has worked diligently for the Children’s Hospital of the Kings Daughters, where a large majority of The Miller Oil Foundation’s funds are given each year to help sick and abused children.

The Millers have three sons. Jeffrey is President of Miller Oil, Keith is a Senior Vice-President.  Their son Michael and his wife Maryann reside in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. Deanne and her husband spend a tremendous amount of time focused on their philanthropic interests. However, their top priority is spending time with their family and their six fascinating grandchildren who live between Norfolk and Washington, D.C.

Augustus (Gus) C. Miller

Chairman of the Board and CEO, Miller Oil Company, Inc.

• Corporate Advisory Boards: Mobil Oil Corporation, Amoco Corporation, Exxon USA
• Board Member: Smithsonian Institute
• President’s Advisory Committee on the Arts – The Kennedy Center
• Immediate past chairman of the Chrysler Museum of Art
• Contributor and Volunteer – The Children’s Hospital of the King’s Daughters (CHKD)
• Past Chairman of the Children’s Health Foundation of CHKD

“This foundation for the Miller family and Miller Oil Company is a natural outgrowth of the desire I have for giving back to the community that has provided so much opportunity for my family.”

— Gus Miller

Gus Miller transformed a single purpose heating oil business into a diversified petroleum company providing gasoline, heating and air conditioning services and 100 service stations and convenience stores – in the short span of 25 years. Today Miller Oil Company is one of the largest privately owned petroleum and convenience store chains in Virginia.

The Miller family came to live in Norfolk, Virginia in 1970 as part of Gus’s career with Exxon Corporation. In 1977 he left to form Miller Oil Company. He built Miller Oil into a dynamic, nationally recognized enterprise.

As CEO of Miller Oil Company, Gus continues to build and develop the company with his eldest son, Jeffrey, President and son Keith, Vice-President. Over the years, Gus Miller’s vision, determination and high degree of energy, combined with plain hard work also attracted the attention of significant philanthropic organizations who called upon him for leadership. Through his dedication of time and resources Gus has made a significant contribution to the quality of life in Hampton Roads.

“Gus Miller built his company by developing a strategic plan, setting it in motion, and following it step-by-step until he met his goals. These were talents he would later utilize in his service on community boards.”

— Bob Stanton, friend

With a long history as a volunteer and contributor to The Children’s Hospital of the King’s Daughters (CHKD), Gus has dedicated the next few years to leading its Capital Campaign. Gus also devotes his time to representing the national treasures of The Smithsonian and brings programs from The Kennedy Center to Hampton Roads to support the Virginia Arts Festival.

Jeff Miller

President, Miller Oil Company, Inc.

• Chairman – The National Association of Convenience Stores
• Chairman – Tidewater Area Retail Merchants Association
• Member – Executive Committee of the Norfolk D’Art Center and The Executive Committee of the Greater Norfolk Corporation

“In addition to the tremendous opportunity the Foundation provides to give back to the community that has helped us build the business, I am partial to smaller organizations that often get slighted because of the dominance of the big charities and their ability to access the big donations.”

— Jeff Miller

Jeff Miller is President of Miller Oil Co. Inc. based in Norfolk, Virginia. Miller Oil operates a chain of 31 convenience stores under the name of Miller Marts and Miller’s Neighborhood Markets in Southeastern Virginia. The company also has an extensive dealer network as well as a home heating oil and heating and air conditioning business. Jeff earned a BA degree from American University in Washington D.C. in International Relations and Economics. In 1981, after five years in the restaurant business in Washington D.C., he relocated to Norfolk and entered the family business. Jeff held numerous positions with the company leading up to being named President in 1999.

Jeff resides in Norfolk and has three children, Alanna a Sophomore at Savannah College of Art and Design, Matthew who is in the music business in Los Angeles, CA and Lindsay, an Independent Sales Director with Mary Kay, who is married to Mark Pryor and resides in Chesapeake, VA.

Lindsay Pryor

– Board Member, Miller Oil Foundation

“Participating in the arts makes a person more confident and articulate. Every child and adult should be able to express their thoughts and feelings in a healthy manner – especially those who otherwise might not have an outlet to do so. The arts can serve as a catalyst for important conversations between family members and communities – which is essential for healthy and productive communication, activity, and ultimately community building..”

- Lindsay Pryor

Lindsay Pryor is a resident of Washington, DC with her husband, Mark Pryor, and has been a board member for the Miller Oil Foundation since 2005. For five years, she has owned and operated an independent business with Mary Kay, Inc, empowering her over 400 customers to take charge of their self image and futures through Mary Kay’s products and business opportunity. She is also proud that her business is directly linked to the Mary Kay Foundation, which is committed to eliminating cancers that affect women and ending the epidemic of domestic violence. While Mary Kay is her full time career, Lindsay was trained as a stage manager at Emerson College where she earned her degree in Theatre Studies. She is a proud member of Actor’s Equity Association – the union for professional stage managers and actors and still works on projects for The Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts and Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company, among others.

Lindsay also volunteers her time to non-profit and grassroots organizations, and is very excited to constantly expand her commitment to community service through the Miller Oil Foundation.

Debbie Miller

– Board Member, Miller Oil Foundation

Debbie Miller is the newest member of the Miller Oil Foundation. She is married to Keith Miller and together they have three wonderful children; Jessie Nichole a junior at The University of South Carolina, Kyle 17 and Zach 14 are students at Norfolk Collegiate School. Debbie was born in Wilmington, Delaware and grew up in the Delaware/New Jersey area where she worked for Delaware Trust Company and the DuPont Company. In 1981, Debbie relocated to Virginia and began working for Virginia National Bank before becoming a real estate paralegal with the law firm of Clements and Swanner in Virginia Beach. She also enjoyed many years working for Wolcott, Rivers et al and Crenshaw, Ware and Martin before leaving the workforce and beginning a family. During the last 15 years Debbie has been a volunteer at Norfolk Collegiate School. She has worked in numerous capacities and presently is a volunteer in the school bookstore. She is also involved with Clean the Bay Days and has volunteered with The Stockley Gardens Arts Festival.