Margaret Miller

is honored with a Brick from Bill and Vicki Skaer, Dr. and Mrs. William C. Skaer, Christen Skaer, and Catherine Skaer Bullinger.

Margaret J. Miller is a lifelong environmentalist. Her parents always conserved and composted. Her sons Timothy, Michael, and Jeffrey, her daughter Gretchen, and her husband Paul are all dedicated to using resources wisely and protecting our planet.

She is a life member of the Sierra Club, a life member of the Nature Conservancy, and an active, contributing member of several other organizations, including the Kansas Natural Resource Council, Greenpeace, Public Citizen, 20/20 Vision, Union of Concerned Scientists, Common Cause, the Kansas Rural Center, and Citizen Alert, a group that monitors nuclear waste transportation and storage.

She was a charter member of Electric Shock, a group that opposed the building of Wolf Creek nuclear power station on economic as well as environmental grounds. She was co-founder of the Residential Utility Consumer Office Coalition which helped establish the state Citizens Utility Ratepayers Board (CURB). CURB represents residential and small business ratepayers in the regulatory process.

She was co-founder of Sedgwick County Citizens for Recycling. For 18 months, this group staffed drop-off recycling sites in multiple locations around the city. The effort grew to the point that 100 volunteers could no longer cope with the materials dropped off by citizens wanting to recycle. This effort led to the setting of up to 20 bins in Dillon's and other parking lots. She was co-founder of the Waste Control and Recycling Coalition, a group of environmentalists, business persons, and civic leaders who work together on overall waste matters. She is editor and publisher of the newsletter "Recycling in Kansas" which has published for 10 years and has a circulation of 1200. She is a charter member of the Sedgwick County Solid Waste Planning Committee.

She was named Environmentalist of the Year by the Kansas Natural Resource Council in 1990. She was named Environmentalist of the Year by the Citizens Utility Ratepayers Board in 1991 and presented with an award by Governor Joan Finney. She was given an Environmental Stewardship award by the Kansas Department of Health and Environment in 1997 and was given a Waste Reduction award from Governor Bill Graves in 1997.

She was featured in the April, 1995 (Earth Day issue of National Geographic) as an activist in energy and solid waste issues.

July 28, 1998