Long County Family Connection hosted a tribute to the late Rev. William Miller on Monday at the Long County Senior Center.

Last week marks the one-year anniversary of Miller’s death. Many key figures in Long County were on hand to speak about their friend and colleague.

Edward Chisolm, the chairman of the Georgia Family Connection Partnership’s Region 12, which includes Long County, opened the ceremony by speaking about Miller’s devotion to his community.

"He ran the race set before him, and he gave so much of himself to his community and to his family," Chisolm said.

Lisa Overbey, coordinator of Long County Family Connection, also praised Miller.

"He was such a good friend to me over the years," she said.

Miller offered money to make sure families and children had their needs met, she added.

Bobby Smith said Miller helped him get out of his comfort zone by nominating him for chairman of the Educational Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax Campaign when Long County’s new high school was about to be built.

Mary Hamilton of St. Phillip’s Baptist Church said Miller had a passion for playing the piano and praised his ability and enthusiasm for the art.

"He was a very lovely person," she said.

Other prominent people, such as Long County Board of Education Chairwoman Janet Watford and Walt Pelton, added praise, saying Miller went to great lengths to see that people were taken care of.

Miller’s widow, Norma, thanked the other speakers for their kind words and everyone for gestures toward her late husband. She said she knew firsthand how much time and effort he put into Long County and said it was nice to know his actions did not go unnoticed.

The coordinators of Georgia Family Connection’s Districts 5 and 12 have erected a marker with Miller’s name on it and planted a Japanese magnolia tree beside it in his memory.