Michael Miller, the late owner of the Recovery Room Bar, was a music lover, but he also loved people — and he loved helping where he could.
The Wiregrass Area Food Bank accepted an incredible donation of funds raised at the first-ever Michael Miller Memorial Jam for Food.
Thanks to the generous efforts of over 40 local musicians, countless volunteers, and a supportive community, a donation of $11,000 will provide over 95,000 meals for those in need.
Miller, who passed away in January, was instrumental in providing more than 319,000 meals to the Food Bank through his “Jam for Food” events he held at his bar over the past decade.
In tribute to Miller’s unwavering dedication to fighting hunger in the Wiregrass, his friends formed a committee to carry on his legacy and continue providing for those who need it.
Gina Burdeshaw, a teacher at Dothan High School, and Jay Shinn, the owner of Annie Pearl’s Home Cooking, visited the Food Bank this afternoon to present the donation. They were two of the group of Miller’s friends who hatched the idea to continue his legacy by holding another Jam for Food.
They came up with the idea shortly after his death while they toasted his memory.
“By the third or fourth drink, we had a plan,” Shinn said.
Burdeshaw said Miller was an incredible person whose friendliness was second to none.
“Everybody thought they were Michael Miller’s best friend, because he made you feel that way,” Burdeshaw said.
“He never met a stranger,” Shinn said.
“We knew his love was the Food Bank,” Burdeshaw said. “He was constantly thinking about it.”
Shinn echoed that — “It’s just something he loved.”
Burdeshaw said before his death Miller excitedly showed her materials for another Jam for Food he’d wanted to put on.
Julie Gonzalez, the Food Bank assistant director, said Miller would show up with donations — even during Covid, when his bar was closed and he didn’t have much income — and always express how he wished he could bring more.
The Elks Lodge was filled out this past Sunday from the come-and-go event, with at least 500 people stopping in.
Burdeshaw said she had a $10,000 goal in mind for the Jam for Food.
“When we hit it, it was an emotional high,” she said.
Gonzalez was moved while counting the donation.
“I think it’s amazing to see Michael’s friends come together in this way to pay tribute to his legacy of taking care of people,” she said. “I think it just goes to show that there are still a lot of good people in the world. All of this is because one man had a big heart and wanted to take care of the people around him, and it just caused this ripple effect throughout the community.”
Miller’s legacy will continue — the Michael Miller Memorial Jam for Food will be a yearly event.
Burdeshaw and Shinn emphasized how thankful they were to the Elks Lodge; the people who donated auction items, time, money, and food; and the musicians who “kept the party going until the end.”
If you want to provide auction items or any help at all for next year’s Michael Miller Memorial Jam for Food, you can message the Recovery Room Bar Facebook page.
To donate to the Food Bank, Annie Pearl’s Home Cooking serves as a drop-off point, but you can bring food items and monetary donations to the Food Bank as well. You can also donate online.
Over 43,000 people in the Wiregrass go to bed every night now knowing if they’ll be able to eat the next day — that’s 1 in 6 people of our neighbors and friends, Gonzalez said.
But the statistic has an upside: it means there’s 5 in 6 people who can help, and you can be one of them.
