About Us

Who We Are

This event has been going on since Sean and Rich saw their father deal with all of the complications that came along from being diagnosed with diabetes.

It started around November 1978, when our father wasn’t feeling well and went to the doctor’s office. They found out that he had Type II diabetes that was able to be controlled with pills. Over the next 9 years things progressed and in the spring of 1987 our father was hospitalized due to the complications of diabetes. At this time they had to take him off of his pills and start him on shots. It took a few days to get him adjusted to his insulin which he remained on until his passing. He retired from work in 1994, and was enjoying retirement life.

Then on Memorial Day 1996, he was out camping and came down with lethal pneumonia. From that day on he started to decline. Leon started to have different diabetic complications that caused his body to start shutting down. His kidneys were giving up; he retained fluid in his legs. Then he had a massive stroke that put him into a coma about 18 hours before he passed away. All funds are donated to the American Diabetes Association.

Sean and Rich wanted to take a negative in their lives and make a positive out of it.

Meet the committee

Jeane Miller
𝑅𝑒𝑙𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛𝑠ℎ𝑖𝑝 𝑡𝑜 𝐿𝑒𝑜𝑛: 𝑊𝑖𝑓𝑒

I married Leon 53 years ago and added Mom, Grandma, and Great Grandma to my list of names that I answer to. Diabetes entered our lives ten years later in 1978 and was controlled with oral meds. 10 years later he became insulin dependent and we learned about injections and watching our diet. We know that we are all possibly susceptible to it and watch carefully. I'm controlling my Type 2 by losing 150+ lbs. and taking Metformin.

Since the tournament started in 1997, there have been so many memories and great people who have been a part of it, I wouldn't know where to begin. I look forward to the end of July each year and being able to see everyone! Thanks to all of you!!!

Sean Miller
𝑅𝑒𝑙𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛𝑠ℎ𝑖𝑝 𝑡𝑜 𝐿𝑒𝑜𝑛: 𝑆𝑜𝑛

It was my honor to call Leon my dad . It all started when I was about 11 years old and he had to start eating differently. It was all I knew as a kid. Fast forward to 1996, it was a year that changed all of us. Pop lost the battle just before Christmas. Rich and I wanted to do something to make a change. The 1st year or 2 the JC's helped us with the tournament. It was mostly just friends and acquaintances, anyone we could drag into playing golf. Throughout the years all of our families and friends have helped us make this into what it is today, 25 years later. I cannot thank everybody enough, those who have helped or played throughout the years. To my wife, my kids, thank you so very much. To my brother and his kids, thank you, it's been one hell of a ride. I think Pop would be proud of all of us!

Rich Miller
𝑅𝑒𝑙𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛𝑠ℎ𝑖𝑝 𝑡𝑜 𝐿𝑒𝑜𝑛: 𝑆𝑜𝑛

I have been privileged to call Leon my father. I was only 6 years old when he was first diagnosed with Diabetes & placed into the hospital to get his medicine regulated. Then about 8 years later he was placed back into the hospital due to his Diabetes getting worse & he was moved from a Type 2 (being on oral medicine) over to a Type 1 that requires shots daily & every time he was going to be eating food. He was then having to monitor his blood sugar levels several times a day. However, during all of this time he never let him slow him down or used it as an excuse to get out of things. During 1996 we faced the biggest challenges as his health started to slide very quickly & we were informed that his kidneys were starting to have issues. Before we were able to get him into a specialist, he lost his battle with this disease a week before Christmas. The only way we were able to strive for a cure for this disease was to put in our hard work & efforts to raise money. The tournament started out very small with friends & family coming out to play. We then were so very blessed to have more people hear about this & it just kept growing. Now we stand at our 25 year of raising money to find a cure & we are so very proud to say we keep the money local in the State of Nebraska / Iowa. This has been such a very close matter to me that I was blessed to join the State of Nebraska Diabetes board & currently serve as the board Chairman. The Miller family has given so very much blood, sweat, time each year to make this such a successful day. My beautiful wife Jill has also been right by my side helping in so many different ways. I can’t say Thank You enough for everything. Then we were gracefully blessed to have wonderful children that have only gotten more involved each year even as they were getting married, starting a family, etc. Furthermore, once they married their spouses were dragged into this event. I personally can’t say how very grateful & blessed I have been to see what we were able to get done by investing the hard work while enjoying some great laughs & quality family time while doing this. This fight is for all of you still challenged with your own personal battles in dealing with Diabetes. I’m very happy to say that over all of these years we have seen so many great accomplishments in moving things closer to finding a cure. Technology is continuing to grow & move things forward. I pray that someday soon we hear of a cure for Diabetes. God’s blessings to each & every one of you!!!

Sean and Kristina Miller
𝑅𝑒𝑙𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛𝑠ℎ𝑖𝑝 𝑡𝑜 𝐿𝑒𝑜𝑛: 𝑆𝑜𝑛/𝐷𝑎𝑢𝑔ℎ𝑡𝑒𝑟 𝐼𝑛 𝐿𝑎𝑤

I'm Kristina Miller (Sean's wife). Providing people with diabetes resources and education is extremely important and personal to me. Both my mother and grandmother were diagnosed with diabetes which puts me at a higher risk of developing it also. As a nurse, I've witnessed first hand the challenges patients face managing their diabetes and other related complications like vascular disease, blindness, neuropathy, and poor wound healing which can ultimately lead to amputation. Knowledge is power and every little thing we do to help makes a significant difference.

Rich, Jill, and Brooke Miller
𝑅𝑒𝑙𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛𝑠ℎ𝑖𝑝 𝑡𝑜 𝐿𝑒𝑜𝑛: 𝑆𝑜𝑛, 𝐷𝑎𝑢𝑔ℎ𝑡𝑒𝑟 𝐼𝑛 𝐿𝑎𝑤, 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝐺𝑟𝑎𝑛𝑑𝑑𝑎𝑢𝑔ℎ𝑡𝑒𝑟

Hi, I'm Jill Miller, Rich's wife. Along with Rich, I have also witnessed diabetes from an early age. My dad was diagnosed when I was around 11 and he controlled it for many years with diet. Eventually he needed pills and it was a contributing factor in his death & his father. My older sister developed diabetes in her early 20's and we attended classes with her. Wow, has knowledge come a long way in those 30 years! Alongside my sister, my older brother and uncles also have diabetes. I raise money to help others and to improve our knowledge of this disease so that we can prevent or reverse it.

Anthony, Ashlee, Nikolas, and Maggee Miller
𝑅𝑒𝑙𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛𝑠ℎ𝑖𝑝 𝑡𝑜 𝐿𝑒𝑜𝑛: 𝐺𝑟𝑎𝑛𝑑𝑠𝑜𝑛
(𝑅𝑖𝑐ℎ’𝑠 𝑆𝑜𝑛, 𝐷𝑎𝑢𝑔ℎ𝑡𝑒𝑟-𝑖𝑛-𝑙𝑎𝑤, 𝐺𝑟𝑎𝑛𝑑𝑠𝑜𝑛, 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝐺𝑟𝑎𝑛𝑑𝑑𝑎𝑢𝑔ℎ𝑡𝑒𝑟)

Hi, I’m Anthony, Leon was my grandfather. Growing up I don’t remember grandpa having diabetes. I only remember going fishing and working on the rentals with him. However, when my father remarried I was older and had another grandfather, aunt, and uncle that also dealt with diabetes. Then when I got married, my wife (Ashlee) had Gestational Diabetes while pregnant and had medication and monitored her sugars for 1.5 year after our last child.

During the first few years of my adult life, I wasn’t around to help with our tournament due to military training. Since I have been out of the Military, I try to bring awareness and help out with our tournament more every year.

Ashley (Miller), Mark, and Thomas McKenzie
𝑅𝑒𝑙𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛𝑠ℎ𝑖𝑝 𝑡𝑜 𝐿𝑒𝑜𝑛: 𝐺𝑟𝑎𝑛𝑑𝑑𝑎𝑢𝑔ℎ𝑡𝑒𝑟
(𝑅𝑖𝑐ℎ’𝑠 𝐷𝑎𝑢𝑔ℎ𝑡𝑒𝑟, 𝑆𝑜𝑛-𝐼𝑛-𝐿𝑎𝑤, 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝐺𝑟𝑎𝑛𝑑𝑠𝑜𝑛)

Mark and Ashley have been helping with the golf tournament for over a decade now. For Ashley the tournament has been something she has remembered her whole life. With Leon being her grandfather, along with other family members affected with this disease, diabetes has always been a word that is talked about and thought about a lot.
Diabetes has been a factor that has hit home for Mark as well due to his mom being diabetic. During the pregnancy of their son, Thomas, Ashley was diagnosed with gestational diabetes and had to monitor her foods and blood sugars 4x/day. Diabetes is around us everywhere and being a part of this tournament has been a privilege to share our story.

Courtney (Miller) and Michael Riley
𝑅𝑒𝑙𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛𝑠ℎ𝑖𝑝 𝑡𝑜 𝐿𝑒𝑜𝑛: 𝐺𝑟𝑎𝑛𝑑𝑑𝑎𝑢𝑔ℎ𝑡𝑒𝑟
(𝑅𝑖𝑐ℎ’𝑠 𝐷𝑎𝑢𝑔ℎ𝑡𝑒𝑟 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑆𝑜𝑛-𝐼𝑛-𝐿𝑎𝑤)

Hello, I’m Courtney, and this is my husband Mikey. Mikey has been a part of Miller Memorial for 8 years now. I have been a part of Miller Memorial for as long as I can remember and as I got older, I kept taking on a bigger role in the committee. I unfortunately did not get much time with my grandpa as he passed away when I was only a year old, but I love hearing stories about his life, the time I did get to spend with him, seeing pictures and to help continue to carry on his name. Throughout both of our lives Mikey and I have been familiar with diabetes and what it entails due to family and friends affected by this disease all around us.
Diabetes is a challenging disease that affects so many lives in so many ways. Being able to have the opportunity to raise money to help better this disease in hopes to find a cure one day is a blessing.

Stephan Miller
𝑅𝑒𝑙𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛𝑠ℎ𝑖𝑝 𝑡𝑜 𝐿𝑒𝑜𝑛: 𝐺𝑟𝑎𝑛𝑑𝑠𝑜𝑛
(𝑆𝑒𝑎𝑛’𝑠 𝑆𝑜𝑛)

Stephan has always been sharing Miller Memorial’s story and has been helping with the tournament when he is physically able to. He has constantly dealt with diabetes through family and friends having it, and his own scare.

Stephan has used his position with his band to push our tournament's message. Meeting new people constantly has shown Stephan that there is not a day that goes where he cannot meet someone whose lives have been affected by this disease. Stephan is thankful for these opportunities and has had the privilege to get a couple of other bands in different areas to start up their own programs to help fight in every possible place.our last child.

Jamie and Cody Florian
𝑅𝑒𝑙𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛𝑠ℎ𝑖𝑝 𝑡𝑜 𝐿𝑒𝑜𝑛: 𝐸𝑥𝑡𝑒𝑛𝑑𝑒𝑑 𝐹𝑎𝑚𝑖𝑙𝑦
(𝑅𝑖𝑐ℎ 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝐽𝑖𝑙𝑙’𝑠 𝑁𝑖𝑒𝑐𝑒)

Jamie has always been affected by diabetes since her mom was diagnosed in her twenties. Jamie would get regular A1C checks to make sure she wasn’t also being affected by diabetes. Her mom isn’t the only family member with diabetes either, so it is something she watches out for every day and motivates her to live a healthy life. When meeting Jamie, Cody didn’t know too much about diabetes as it never affected him closely. Now he knows more than he ever imagined! Jamie has been a part of the tournament for over a decade and Cody joined about 4 years ago.child.