| George L. Miles, Jr. 2005 Honoree |
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| All it took was for George L. Miles, Jr. to be humiliated to know that he would settle for nothing but success. Miles was eight years old when he paid for groceries with food stamps and suffered ridicule from the store's workers who laughed at him. According to an interview in Pittsburgh's Tribune-Review, Miles' family was on welfare at the time, and this experience provided nothing but motivation for him. "When I wanted to slack off, I always got energy from that experience," Miles said. Today, Miles is president and chief executive officer of WQED Multimedia, the public broadcaster for southwestern Pennsylvania and the parent company of television and radio stations, the WQED publishing division and the WQED Education Resource Center. |
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He is also a certified public accountant and known for his knowledge of business and finance. In 1983, Miles was a member of a team that helped National Public Radio out of a financial crisis. He also resurrected WQED out of its slump in 1994, when the company was basically bankrupt. Joining WQED and public broadcasting was not a first for Miles. He spent 10 years as executive vice president and chief operating officer of a Public Broadcasting Service flagship station in New York City prior to making his move to Pittsburgh.
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"Don't define yourself by something outside of you or allow others to." |
Miles earned a bachelor's degree from Seton Hall University and a master's in business administration degree from Fairleigh Dickinson University. In 1989, he was awarded the Pinnacle Award from his graduate school, which recognizes outstanding achievements of alumnus. The same year, St. Joseph's College presented Miles with an honorary doctor of laws degree. A more recent honor was from Robert Morris University, where he received an honorary degree of doctor of business administration.
Miles serves on the boards of various organizations, including Carnegie Museums of Pittsburgh, Harley-Davidson, Inc., and WESCO International, Inc. He is a former chair of the Urban League of Pittsburgh and former co-chair of Mentoring Partnership of Southwestern Pennsylvania.
Years ago, Miles did not allow the grocery store workers to deter him. For this reason, Miles encourages others with the following: "Don't define yourself by something outside of you or allow others to."
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