Richards Marion "Doc" Miller is a dentist and one of the founders of the

Venturing Venturing is a core program of Scouting America for coeducational teenagers and young adults ages 14 (or 13 and graduated the eighth grade) through 20. It is one of Scouting America's three programs for older youth, the others being Sea Scouts and ...

program of the

Boy Scouts of America Scouting America is the largest scouting organization and one of the largest List of youth organizations, youth organizations in the United States, with over 1 million youth, including nearly 200,000 female participants. Founded as the Boy Sco ...

. Miller is the recipient of the

Distinguished Eagle Scout Award The Distinguished Eagle Scout Award (DESA) is a distinguished service award of the Boy Scouts of America (BSA). It is awarded to an Eagle Scout who has achieved extraordinary national-level recognition, fame, or eminence within their profession ...

and

Silver Buffalo Award The Silver Buffalo Award is the national-level distinguished service award of Scouting America. It is presented for noteworthy and extraordinary service to youth on a national basis, either as part of, or independent of the Scouting program. The ...

Early life

Miller attended

Brigham Young University Brigham Young University (BYU) is a Private education, private research university in Provo, Utah, United States. It was founded in 1875 by religious leader Brigham Young and is the flagship university of the Church Educational System sponsore ...

. While there, he was a cheerleader from 1967 to 1969; becoming the head cheerleader in 1969.

Career

Miller founded a dental practice in Waynesboro, Virginia in 1974. From 1986–1997, Miller was the junior varsity volleyball coach at

Wilson Memorial High School Wilson Memorial High School is a public school located in Fishersville, Virginia. The school is named after the 28th President of the United States, Thomas Woodrow Wilson, who was born in nearby Staunton, Virginia. WMHS, home of the Green Horne ...

in Fishersville, Virginia.

Scouting

Miller joined the Boy Scouts of America (BSA) when he was fourteen years old and became an

Eagle Scout Eagle Scout is the highest rank attainable in the Scouts BSA program of Scouting America. Since its inception in 1911, only four percent of Scouts have earned this rank after a lengthy review process. The Eagle Scout rank has been earned by over ...

with two Eagle Palms in 1959. Miller was the Eagle Scout chosen to escort President

John F. Kennedy John Fitzgerald Kennedy (May 29, 1917 – November 22, 1963), also known as JFK, was the 35th president of the United States, serving from 1961 until his assassination in 1963. He was the first Roman Catholic and youngest person elected p ...

for his inauguration and Inaugural Ball in 1960. He joined the Eagle Scout honor society, Knights of Dunamis, and helped to found a local chapter of its successor, the

National Eagle Scout Association The National Eagle Scout Association (NESA) is an organization of individuals who have earned the rank of Eagle Scout (Boy Scouts of America), Eagle Scout in Scouting America. NESA's stated objective is "to serve Eagle Scouts and, through them, ...

, serving as its chairman. Active in the BSA

Order of the Arrow The Order of the Arrow (OA) is the honor society of Scouting America, composed of Scouts and Scouters who best exemplify the Scout Promise, Scout Oath and Scout Law, Law in their daily lives as elected by their peers. It was founded as a camp fr ...

honor since 1957, he served as a lodge adviser. Miller was a Scoutmaster for seven years, was president of the Virginia Headwaters Council, and the council commissioner. He was the National Outdoor Venturing Chairman from 1998 to 2004, overseeing 250,000 scouts. From 2000 to 2003, he served on the National BSA Field Book Task Force, writing the ''Fieldbook: The BSA's Manual of Advanced Skills for Outdoor Travel, Adventure, and Caring for the Land, 4th edition'' (2004). He also helped authored the ''

Wood Badge Wood Badge is a Scout leader training program, first implemented by The Scout Association, The Boy Scouts Association in the United Kingdom in 1919 and subsequently adopted, with variations, by some other Scout organizations. Wood Badge Course ...

in the 21st Century'' scout leader training course. In 2005, he received the

, Scouting’s highest commendation for adult volunteers. On May 25, 1996, he was awarded the

Silver Antelope Award The Silver Antelope Award is a distinguished service award presented by Scouting America for outstanding service to young people within one of the organization’s divisions. Since 2022 award has been presented for service to a Council Service T ...

at the national BSA convention in Hawaii.

Awards and honors

with two Eagle Palms, 1959 *

, 1996 * Distinguished Service Award of the

, 1998 *

Venturing Leadership Award The Venturing Leadership Award is presented by councils, areas, regions, and the National Council of the Boy Scouts of America to Venturers and Venturing Advisors who have made exceptional contributions to Venturing and who exemplify the Scout Oat ...

, 2000 *

, 2001 *

, 2005

Personal and family life

Miller lives in

Waynesboro, Virginia Waynesboro (; formerly Flack) is an independent city (United States), independent city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Virginia. It is a principal city of the Staunton-Waynesboro micropolitan area, Staunton-Waynesboro Metropoli ...

with his wife Georgiana Hardesty Miller. He is the father of four daughters and one son who is also an Eagle Scout. He is a member of The Church of the Latter-Day Saints.

References