I am at the Utah Jazz basketball game. It is halftime and I am beginning to write this post on my iPhone.
Tonight is a sad night for me. Larry Miller, the owner of the Utah Jazz passed away yesterday and tonight they had a brief memorial for him at the beginning of the Utah Jazz Game.
Larry Miller was a good man. I actually had the chance to take a class from him while getting my MBA. He taught a course on Entrepreneurship. For 2 months, Larry Miller came and taught the class principles of being an entrepreneur.
He told his story from his humble beginnings of working as a stock boy in an auto parts store. He was ambitious, and soon moved up to managing the parts dept, and on from there.
Today, the Larry H. Miller organization has a ton of different businesses. From the ownership of the Utah Jazz, to the Salt Lake Bees, Jordan Commons (theater & restaurant complex), Larry H. Miller Motorsports Park, over 40 Auto Dealerships throughout the Intermountain West, and more.
The thing that I liked the most about Larry was his generosity. He was very philanthropic. He supported the community in many ways, including millions of dollars donated to building a training center for law enforcement and corrections officers, as well as a significant investment towards a campus for the Salt Lake Community College and much more.
His quote that represented his viewpoint on giving was “Go about doing good until there is too much good in the world”
What an inspiration! What a loss to the community! We will miss him!
My thoughts and prayers go out to Gail Miller, his wife, and the entire Miller family!
Oh – and as a final tribute to Larry, the Jazz won their game. After the game, Kyle Korver came over from the bench and gave Gail Miller a hug and wished her well. I thought it was a class act all the way!
