Ex-MEA board member gets position on HRC

March 29, 2005

DAWN DE BUSK/Frontiersman reporter

WASILLA - A Wasilla woman who once served on the Matanuska Electric Association board has been named by Gov. Frank Murkowski to a position on the Alaska Human Rights Commission.

Barbara "Tamie" Miller will serve in the unpaid post until March 1, 2009.

"I feel very honored that they thought enough of my background, and that I'll be able to help," Miller said.

She didn't apply for the position, but was called by the governor's office and asked if she would apply. She received an application from Juneau, and later, received word of her appointment.

Also chosen for the commission were Chris Hayes of Fairbanks and Randall Eledge of Anchorage. The governor re-appointed Lester Lunceford of Whittier.

Miller won't have to battle for housing in Juneau; she will be working out of her home.

Miller said much of her background experience - including her time on the MEA board - will contribute to her new job.

"I understand number one, how things are run, and number two, I have a firm understanding of what the law says," Miller explained.

"The state statute on human rights is very specific. The staff screens about 5,000 inquiries a year, and figures out which ones fit the statute," said Miller, adding that the members of the commission receive those pre-screened inquiries.

Human Rights Commission members will review the complaints through research and interviews, then bring the pertinent information to the convened commission and one of the state's attorneys. From there, the state will decide which human rights violations cases to pursue.

The commission will convene three times a year.

Miller holds a degree in economics. She is a former teacher - a retired reading specialist. Currently, she runs a family business.

"I have both feet firmly planted on the ground, and yet I am versatile enough to know what's going on. My educational background shows I'm capable of learning something new at all times," she said.

Miller and her husband, William Henry Miller, are semi-retired, she said. He was in Seattle purchasing an ocean-faring boat when her appointment was announced.

"The next two months are his," she said. "This is going to be his trip of a lifetime this spring."

Miller plans to travel to Juneau with her husband on their new boat this spring.

"I'm not crossing the Gulf of Alaska. I'm getting off the boat in Juneau. Later, I'm flying to Anchorage, where my son will pick me up. I'm going home, picking up our RV and the dog and then driving to Seward. And I'll wait for him to come over the horizon."