‘He just wanted to give.’ Manatee Schools’ HQ building renamed to honor Walter Miller

How do you honor a man who dedicated his life to Manatee County students and residents?

By putting his name on a prominent building in downtown Bradenton, school board members agreed. After the board’s unanimous vote earlier this month, the school district is now working to rename its administration building the Walter E. Miller School Support Center.

Walter Ernest Miller was a longtime school board member, district leader and community servant before he died from heart failure at the age of 83. Wednesday marks the second anniversary of his passing — a day for loved ones to honor the man who was both humble and ambitious.

“He devoted 40 years to the children and employees of Manatee County,” said his wife, Mary. “That was his whole life, besides his family, of course.”

Friends and family remember the man who helped to build new schools and community resources. They said Miller took part in the design and construction of every school from 1979 to 2010, along with the grant request that funded G.T. Bray Park and Blackstone Park.

Others remember a man who elevated local sports. Miller followed the Manatee Hurricanes as a member of the radio broadcasting team, and he helped bring the Sunshine State Games to Manatee County in 1992.

About four years later, as the Olympic Games were traveling to Atlanta, Miller was honored to carry the torch as it passed through Manatee County. He was chosen for his community involvement, which included work at Meals on Wheels PLUS, Foundation for Dreams and St. Joseph Catholic Church.

Miller had a positive impact on countless Manatee County residents, and thousands more will know his story after the lengthy process to name a building in his honor. The decision followed a two-year campaign by residents who wanted to honor the local leader.

“He would be honored, of course, but he was so humble,” said Miller’s son, Clay. “He did everything out of his heart and his care for children. None of this would have been important to him, but he would be honored just because he loved Manatee County so much.”

Walter E. Miller School Support Center

The School Support Center, 215 Manatee Ave. W., is home to the school board, the superintendent’s office and other people who make vital decisions about hiring, spending and planning. The office affects every student and school employee in Manatee County.

Miller worked in the old administration building — which was located on the same property — as an assistant superintendent after moving to Manatee County in 1979. Years later, he vowed to construct a modern office that was suitable for hard-working school employees and the growing downtown area.

“It was his 50th birthday and we had redesigned his office in that old building,” Clay Miller said. “I can remember him looking at me and saying, ‘Well, I appreciate you guys redesigning this for me. This is nice, but just know we’re getting out of this building in the next five years. I promise you, sons, the next building is going to stand tall and be one of a kind in Manatee County.”

Sure enough, he took on that “dilapidated” building, as one former principal described it. Miller led the effort to demolish Manatee’s old office and to construct a new, more dignified office where the school district could conduct its business.

If the district were to name any building in his honor, he would be most proud to leave a mark on the administration building, Miller once said, responding to a question from his wife.

“I put my blood, sweat and tears in that building and it came in at $99 a square foot,” he was quoted as saying.

After residents elected him to the School Board of Manatee County in 1998, Miller served three terms in the new administration building, where board members continue to hold meetings every month.

It remains the epicenter of local education and the high-level decisions that impact Manatee County schools. The office was also a landmark in downtown Bradenton.

Sandwiched between Manatee Avenue West and Sixth Avenue West, the building is seen by thousands of motorists every day.

“I’m just honored to know my dad’s name will go on forever in Manatee County,” Clay Miller said. “To have it on a building that he was so fond of and worked so hard to build, to know his name will be on that forever, that means more to me than anything.”

‘I think the Lord just led us there’

The School Support Center is perhaps the most appropriate building to honor Miller, though it was far from the intended target.

Miller was a key member of the group that campaigned for school board candidates Mary Cantrell and Joe Stokes over the last several years. A spin-off group — The Friends of Walter Miller — emerged after his death in 2019.

Most members were former district leaders who worked with Miller, including Kris and Judy Bayer, a pair of retired Manatee County principals. They said Miller would always be an inspiration and someone deserving of recognition.

“He just wanted to give,” Kris Bayer said. “He wanted to give to the community. And just being in his presence, he had a great laugh, he was easy to talk to, he was full of information and he was just one of those warm characters you really enjoy talking to and working with.”

A fellow group member, Minnie King, helped to locate the best building for a Miller tribute. Hoping to avoid confusion with Jessie P. Miller Elementary School, she searched for a non-school building to honor her former coworker and friend.

The group landed on a promising venue: The new stadium at Parrish Community High School. And on April 23, 2019, just one month after his death, the school board voted unanimously to approve the “Walter E. Miller Athletic Stadium.”

It wasn’t long before Friends of Walter Miller began fundraising, contacting vendors and working with school leaders. To date, the group has raised nearly $40,000 to bring the dedication to life, King said.

But earlier this year, as the process was nearly complete, a handful of community members insisted the stadium be named after someone with more connections to Parrish. Though he loved the area, Miller was someone who impacted all of Manatee County.

For that reason, King said, the group shifted focus to the administration building in downtown Bradenton, a place where Miller spent much of his time. The school board again took up their request on March 9, giving the OK to rename what will soon be known as the “Walter E. Miller School Support Center.”

District leaders are now working on a timeline to change the signage and to hold a dedication ceremony.

“Actually, it’s much more fitting for him,” King said. “I think the Lord just led us there.”

This story was originally published March 24, 2021 at 5:00 AM.