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Speak Up

U.S. President John F. Kennedy famously said, "Ask not what your country can do for you - ask what you can do for your country." Apply that philosophy at the community level, and your résumé might look like that of Rothesay resident Arthur Miller.

Mr. Miller, who died on Sunday, was known in the Kennebecasis Valley as "Mr. Generosity." Over a period of four decades, the self-made millionaire invested a fortune in his community, focusing on measures that benefit seniors, children and low-income families.

A former rugby player, Mr. Miller almost single-handedly initiated the movement to create new recreation facilities in the valley, believing that youths should have opportunities to grow through play. He donated more than $2 million to the creation of year-round, all-weather sports fields in Rothesay and Quispamsis, because they were needed and no one else was taking action.

Mr. Miller wasn't as rich as Microsoft founder Bill Gates or investor Warren Buffet, but his philanthropy had similar roots: the belief that those who enjoy success in life should share their good fortune. His sharing took a variety of forms, from donations to the local food bank to an annual party for hundreds of senior citizens. Through public acts of generosity, he emphasized that we are all equal members of one community.

The Arthur Miller Playing Fields are a memorial to his greater legacy - the inspirational example of how much one person can do when guided by a vision of the common good.