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Photo Jack Miller’s Food Products

unit to heat the pots. At the time, his son, Kermit, was assigned to a boiler room on a naval ship off the coast of Vietnam. Jack sent Kermit a picture of the new equipment with a note that read, “You better learn to run the ship’s boiler, so you can run this boiler.” Kermit joined his father in the business in 1970. He made deliv eries and managed the books, and observed the production as often as he could. “I was an apprentice to my father and Chester Meche. I took over in 1980,” shared Kermit. Jack taught Kermit the basics of running a business. A good businessman knows every aspect of his business — he can cook the product, run the machines and greet the customer. In 1980, the state of Louisiana expropriated Jack’s property on 1-49 to make LaSalle and Main one-way streets. Jack moved his home and built a new plant at 646 Jack Miller Road. Shortly after the new plant was completed, Jack retired. He passed away in 1988. Besides his son Kermit, Jack and Joyce Miller were the parents of three daughters. During his life, Jack loved to be with people. He served them food in his restaurant and also helped the community. He was the first recipient of the Ville Platte Chamber of Commerce Businessman of the Year Award. He served as Opelousas King of Corinth X in 1976 and he was the 1981 Cotton Festival Parade Marshal. He and Joyce were recognized as the Evangeline Parish Great American Family in 1988. In 1990, the Ville Platte Rotary Club awarded Jack the Paul Harris Fellowship posthumously. Jack also belonged to the Lions Club and the Woodmen of the World, and had been a volunteer fireman. After his father’s retirement, Kermit became the head of Jack Miller Food Products. He and his wife, Sheila, introduced two new products: Jack Miller’s Cajun All-Purpose Seasoning and Jack Miller’s Cajun Cocktail Sauce.

“It is amazing how my father started a business with so little and became a success. He always did the right thing at the right time, and he had the personality to market his product.”

— Kermit Miller, President and GM of American Inn Jack Miller Food Products, 3 rd Generation

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