TODD MILLER ’ 78
PHOTOS BY STEVE EXUM ’ 92
campground for use in its environmental
education program. Bob Hixson, a retired
carpenter and house builder, has come
along to install a handrail at one cabin and
to rebuild a set of steps at another. Many of
the federation’s projects rely on volunteer
labor, and Hixson is a regular. He says he’s
spent 100 hours this year working for the
federation. “It keeps the man in the mirror
off my back,” Hixson said. “It’s also a mat-
ter of enlightened self-interest. I’m a
kayaker, and I like to paddle in clean
water.”
Miller has a talent for attracting to his
cause skilled staff and volunteers from
every walk of life. IBM executives have
advised him on his business practices. Brad
Tesh, who retired as head of IT for the
Smithsonian Institute and now lives in
Swansboro, drops in every Tuesday to tune
up the federation’s computer system. And
Miller is always looking for more.
Family, friendship and devotion to the
coast are recurring themes when you talk
with federation staff members or volunteers
about their work.
“Before Todd was my boss he was my
friend,” said Frank Tursi, who came to the
Miller rests on a pile of oyster shells, placed
by volunteers in mesh bags, at left, to slow
the force of waves and to enable marsh grass
to grow and protect against erosion.
tive, passionate defender of our coastal envi-
ronment. Most people work at their jobs
just to make it to the weekend, to have
those two days away from work. I don’t
have that kind of job. Those of us who
work for the Coastal Federation believe in
the mission, and we have a good boss.”
Eric Pake Jr. puts it this way: “Some
people hear the name Coastal Federation
and they cringe. But they don’t love North
River oysters like I do. Todd hasn’t hurt the
economy of Carteret County; he’s
enhanced it. Without good water, you have
no resource and no economy.”
federation after 23 years as environmental
reporter for the Winston-Salem Journal. “I
first met Todd when I was a reporter writing stories about the coast and he was running the federation off the back porch of
his house. I knew him to be a very effec-
NEIL CAUDLE retired in 2010 as UNC’s
associate vice chancellor for research and
economic development and as editor of
Endeavors, UNC’s magazine for research
and creative activity. Endeavors plans to
become an online-only magazine in 2012.
Caudle also wrote “If These Stones Could
Talk,” the Review’s July/August 2011
cover story about the campus’s rock walls.
42
November/December 2011
