Pub. 1 2018-2019 |Issue 1

15 doing. They made all their business decisions jointly. Other dealers, seeing their success and Larry’s work ethic, thought Larry would be a good person to buy them out when they were ready to sell. The Millers bought eight dealerships in six years after their return from Colorado. By 1985, Larry had become a prominent Utah businessman. Out- of-state buyers were considering buying the Utah Jazz, but the general manager of the Utah Jazz at that time, Dave Checketts, wanted to keep the team in Utah and asked Larry if he would be willing to invest in the team. Larry was not a big basketball fan at the time. However, he and Gail both saw the Utah Jazz as an asset for the entire state, and they knew that if the team were to leave, it would probably not be replaced. The Millers decided to buy the team for a total of $22 million, buying the first half in 1985 and the second half a year later. The Utah Jazz has become a valued state asset since their purchase. The business empire Larry and Gail built continued to grow and to thrive, but on February 20, 2009, Larry died of complications from his diabetes. Shortly before Larry's passing, their son Greg Miller was named CEO. He served as CEO from July 2008, until March 2015. Clark Whitworth, the former president and CFO of Larry H. Miller Management Corporation, was then named CEO and serves in that role today. The company announced a board of directors structure in November 2015. Gail serves as the chairman of the board as well as the company's owner. After Larry died, Gail discovered she still wanted the same involvement she’d had in the business before that. She began attending meetings and gathering information. Clark says today that her great strength as a leader is evident in the way she has learned to focus on the most important part of every situation, and to base her decisions and opinions on her resulting understanding. Gail is now married to long-time family friend Kim Wilson, a senior attorney with Snow, Christensen and Martineau. Kim's first wife, Vicky, passed away shortly after Larry died. Today, with her children long- since grown, and with the third generation learning the business and the necessity for hard work, Gail is continuing her work to strengthen the community and to make sure that the family businesses continue into the next generation and beyond. The Larry H. Miller Group of Companies is impressive. It employs thousands of employees in the western states, starting with the dealerships but also including sports, entertainment, movie theaters, insurance companies, advertising companies, and many charities. During Gail’s life, she has done what she needed to do because there wasn’t anyone else available. But that wasn’t the goal. Work is important; family is more important. Gail feels a continuing need to give back to the community that has been so good to her and her family, and to do what she can to strengthen others through philanthropy and service. The businesses are in good shape for the foreseeable future, but Gail wants to make sure that core values (such as hard work, integrity, service and stewardship) continue to be an important part of the business empire she built with Larry. She won’t have to worry about the future as long as those core values continue to be practiced by everyone involved in the businesses. 3 Go about doing good until there's too much good in the world.