Meet FRED MILLER: Fred Miller Group, Inc. | Jacksonville, Florida

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Get to know Fred Miller, Broker/Owner/CEO of Fred Miller Group, Inc., the exclusive Leverage Partner in the Jacksonville, Florida area.

What was your vision in founding Fred Miller Group, Inc.?

After 14 years in a family printing and graphics business that was very labor and capital intensive, I wanted to form a people business with unlimited potential and low labor and capital intensity and take advantage of our family name in business that began here in 1911. In 1978, a friend and I formed a full service advertising company, which flourished for 12 years. In 1990, I got my residential real estate license and one year later got my broker's license. My wife Carol and I started our residential real estate agency in 1995, grew to 70 associates in two offices and 'ungrew' back to 25 associates in one office, thanks to the deep housing recession. We now have plans to acquire appropriate small but highly professional agencies and create two new offices in strategic areas of the city.

What do you love most about working and living in Jacksonville?

We love the modest four seasons, the Atlantic ocean and the huge St. Johns River, as well as the recovering residential market. Northeast Florida is an outstanding place to live, work and play year round. We have a wonderful symphony and arts community, in addition to a world-class medical system which includes Mayo Clinic and M. D. Anderson Cancer Center affiliates.

How do you like to spend your free time – when you have it?

In addition to working and playing with three sons and daughters-in-law and seven brilliant grandchildren, I enjoy fly-fishing here and in the North Carolina mountains and in Oregon, as well as waterfowl hunting in Louisiana, Mississippi and Arkansas. I am active in numerous charitable and civic associations, and Carol and I spend four to six weeks each year in Western North Carolina.

What is your daily "must-do"?

Regardless of when I wake up, within 20 minutes I am in a favorite breakfast restaurant every day, sometimes at 5am but usually 7-8am. I use this quiet time to read and respond to email as I plan my day.

Name one thing that we might not know about you.

I grew up swimming competitively, which lasted through college, after which I became a runner in my twenties. I ran the NYC Marathon in October 1983. Otherwise, I enjoy reading non-fiction, especially biographies.