MILLER, Van Gladstone 1948-2015

MILLER, BRICKER

Posted By: K. L. Kittleson
Date: 11/7/2015 at 18:39:40

Van G. Miller

July 23, 1948 - October 18, 2015

Service:
Saturday, October 24, 2015
Walnut Ridge Baptist Church
1307 West Ridgeway
Waterloo, Iowa

Van Gladstone Miller was born on July 23, 1948, the son of Blaine and Verda (Bricker) Miller, a prominent Orange Township farm family. His grandfather’s name was on the cornerstone of Orange School as one of the original township board members. Van graduated from Orange High School in 1966, then attended Ellsworth Community College and the University of Northern Iowa.

He served in the U.S. Army as a medic, and was renowned for his ability to administer gentle vaccinations, suture with precision and painlessly remove splinters. It was there he developed a dislike for blind bureaucracy and structured management, which helped shape his philosophy on running his companies.

Van tried farming, hated it, then sold cemetery lots, markers and insurance policies before “apprenticing” at the now-defunct Waterloo Sickroom Supply, where he started out cleaning bathrooms, scrubbing floors and delivering equipment. Van founded Miller Medical Supply, a full-line home medical equipment store, which grew into eight company stores and 20 franchise locations in eight Midwestern states. As a large purchaser of Home Medical Equipment (HME), Miller Medical received favorable volume discounts, and that concept would be the premise on which he founded his next and most successful venture, VGM and Associates.

Van founded VGM on September 3, 1986, with the belief that quality home health care is best delivered by community-based, independent providers. He did it with a little help from his friends, James E. Walsh Jr., and John Deery Jr., who both wrote checks to get the fledgling company off the ground.

The original buying group for independent home medical equipment providers grew to be a diverse company of business units. VGM is still best known for its leadership in the home medical equipment industry, where it provides services that include group purchasing, insurance, education, marketing, insurance contracting, advocacy and analysis.

Under Van’s guidance, VGM expanded to include a significant business presence in management of post-acute health care, golf, restaurants, orthotics and prosthetics and physical therapy. VGM employs 850 people, the majority of whom work at its headquarters in Waterloo, Iowa, but there are also sizeable offices in Dade City, Florida; Atlanta; Kansas City; Phoenix; and Toronto, Ontario, Canada.

Known for his easy-going personality and ability to make everyone in his organization feel important, Van still made phone calls to his 850-plus associates on their birthdays and work anniversaries, delivered caramel apples to everyone at Halloween and was a prominent figure in the booth at VGM’s trade shows, where he was easily spotted in the year’s latest patriotic shirt. Despite his success, he considered himself to be “one of the associates” and maintained an open door policy in the office.

“I try to stay out of everybody’s way,” Van said recently. “I look for opportunities for growth, and help make sure communication is company-wide. My ultimate responsibility is to make a decision when there is no clear-cut consensus. The most important thing I do is make sure that the values and camaraderie with our associates stay intact – like they were in the beginning.”

Van’s vision often exceeded that of his bosses, and he always noted that he’d been fired three times before starting VGM.

Van has twice headed companies that made Inc. Magazine’s list of the 500 fastest growing U.S. companies, was named one of the HME industry’s Ten Most Influential Individuals by HME News, and received HomeCare Magazine’s HomeCaring Award. The American Association for Home Care recognized him as a Champion of Home Care. In 2009, Van was inducted into the Junior Achievement of Eastern Iowa Hall of Fame. In 2014, he was named one of the Upper Midwest EY (Ernst and Young) Entrepreneurs of the Year. This year, the Des Moines Register named VGM the Top Workplace in Iowa among large companies.

In recent years, Van made accommodations for his succession. In 2008, Van and minority shareholders Jim Walsh and John Deery Jr., sold 100 percent of the stock of the company to its employees through an Employee Stock Option Plan, or ESOP. In 2014, VGM Group, Inc., was named Iowa-Nebraska ESOP Company of the Year.

“Van thought of those who work for the company first, and his community second. His consummate skill in managing talent and making hard decisions was evident to all who know him,” said Walsh. “He frequently acknowledged that his associates are the ones who built the enterprise and that they should benefit from its success through the ESOP.”
Van died Sunday, Oct. 18, at his home, from a massive heart attack. He is survived by three sons, Vance (Amy Slater) Miller of Monona, WI, Dax (Marissa) Miller of Waterloo and Christopher (Joanie) Miller of Waterloo; Chris Livingston, his long-time companion; five grandchildren: Ariana Carolyn Miller, Brianna Jolee Miller, Amaya Marie Miller, Emery Jane Miller and Michael Van Miller; and three brothers, Blaine, John and Doug.

Even though he struggled with heart issues, Van was so pleased to keep a personal promise to his youngest son, Christopher, which was to attend and participate in his wedding on the day before his death.

Source: Parrott and Wood funeral home

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