Rodney K. Miller | |
---|---|
Education | Benton Consolidated High School and Rend Lake College |
Occupation(s) | Television host, farmer, entrepreneur |
Awards | Alumnus of the Year (2009) from Benton Consolidated High School |
Website | smalltownbigdeal |
Rodney Miller is the creator [1] and co-host of Small Town Big Deal , an American nationally syndicated broadcast and cable television show. Miller and co-host Jann Carl, a former TV reporter and weekend anchor with Entertainment Tonight , travel the country sharing uplifting stories about American communities and people. Small Town Big Deal first aired on September 6, 2012, on the RFD-TV cable network. Since then, Small Town Big Deal has entered national broadcast syndication and appears on over 150 local stations (80 percent of the United States) each week. It also began broadcasting on the Armed Forces Network in the Fall of 2017.
Prior to television, Miller was an executive in the agricultural machinery industry as CEO of Montana Tractors [2] in Springdale, Arkansas, and McCormick International, [3] USA in Duluth, Georgia. A businessman, farmer, and entrepreneur, he also operates the Buford Corn Maze in the Atlanta metro area. [4] Miller has said that "in a lot of ways the maze is a symbol of my life. I did not take the straight path, and I had a lot of failures – but I never gave up chasing my dream." [5] The maze is open from early September to late November each year. Miller is a supporter and board member with the Georgia AgriTourism Association. [6]
Miller was born in McLeansboro, Illinois, and grew up on a farm near Benton, Illinois as a fourth-generation farmer, by his parents John Eugene Miller and Elizabeth Emmagene Miller (Tate), who were devout born again Christians and raised him as such. Miller considers his faith in Jesus Christ as "the greatest blessing in his life". [7] In Southern Illinois, he graduated from Akin Grade School, Benton Consolidated High School, and Rend Lake College. He was honored as " Alumnus of the Year" in 2009 at BCHS. [8] He and his wife, Kendra, live on a farm near Ocilla, Georgia, and operate a farm in southern Illinois. They have three children and two grandchildren. In his free time, Miller enjoys collecting, repairing and restoring antique tractors and equipment to their original pristine condition. [7]
Agritourism or agrotourism involves any agriculturally based operation or activity that brings visitors to a farm or ranch.
Marshall County is a county located in far western portion of the U.S. state of Kentucky. As of the 2020 census, the population was 31,659. Its county seat is Benton.
Buford is a city in Gwinnett and Hall counties in the U.S. state of Georgia. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 17,144. Most of the city is in Gwinnett County, which is part of the Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Marietta Metropolitan Statistical Area. The northern sliver of the city is in Hall County, which comprises the Gainesville, Georgia Metropolitan Statistical Area and is part of the larger Atlanta-Athens-Clarke-Sandy Springs Combined Statistical Area.
Benton is a city in and the county seat of Franklin County, Illinois. The population was 6,709 at the 2020 census. In 1839, Franklin County was split roughly in half and the county seat was permanently fixed "at a hill at the south end of Rowling's Prairie", the site of the future city of Benton. Benton's namesake is Missouri senator Thomas Hart Benton. The village of Benton was organized in 1841 on 20 acres (8.1 ha) of property donated by John Ewing and Walter S. Akin. In 1902, the village became a city, and incorporated under the mayor/commissioner form of government.
Rossville is a village in Ross Township, Vermilion County, Illinois, United States. As of the 2020 census, the city population was 1,221. It is part of the Danville, Illinois Metropolitan Statistical Area.
Big Sandy is a town in Chouteau County, Montana, United States. The population was 605 at the 2020 census.
Deere & Company, doing business as John Deere, is an American corporation that manufactures agricultural machinery, heavy equipment, forestry machinery, diesel engines, drivetrains used in heavy equipment, and lawn care equipment. It also provides financial services and other related activities.
Orono is a community in the Municipality of Clarington, Ontario, Canada. It is located on the southern stretch of Highway 35/115, approximately 87 km (54 mi) east of Toronto.
Tractor Supply Company, founded in 1938, is an American retail chain of stores that sells products for home improvement, agriculture, lawn and garden maintenance, livestock, equine and pet care for recreational farmers and ranchers, pet owners, and landowners. The company has 2,000 stores and is headquartered in Brentwood, Tennessee. It is publicly traded on the NASDAQ under the ticker symbol TSCO and is a Fortune 500 company.
Jann Carl is a co-host and part owner of the syndicated TV show Small Town Big Deal. Carl and her co-host, Rodney K. Miller, report on uplifting stories about people, places and events throughout communities big and small across the United States. The show first aired on September 6, 2012, on the RFD-TV cable network. Small Town Big Deal has aired almost 100 episodes since 2012 and is now viewed on network and local television stations in nearly 80 percent of the United States.
WCIA is a television station licensed to Champaign, Illinois, United States, serving as the CBS affiliate for the Central Illinois region. It is owned by Nexstar Media Group alongside Springfield-licensed MyNetworkTV affiliate WCIX. Both stations share studios on South Neil Street/US 45 in downtown Champaign and also operate a sales office and news bureau on West Edwards Street near the Illinois State Capitol in Springfield. WCIA's transmitter is located west of Seymour, Illinois.
RFD-TV is an American pay television channel owned by Rural Media Group, Inc. The channel features programming devoted to rural issues, concerns and interests. The channel's name is a reference to Rural Free Delivery, the name for the United States Postal Service's system of delivering mail directly to rural patrons. Production and uplinking facilities for RFD-TV are located at 49 Music Square West, Music Row in Nashville, Tennessee. RFD-TV's sister radio channel is Rural Radio on Sirius XM. RFD-TV formerly owned a theater in Branson, Missouri where some variety shows that air on RFD-TV were filmed, as well as the Imus Ranch in Ribera, New Mexico.
Movin' On is an American drama television series. It ran for two seasons from 1974 to 1976 on the NBC network.
Orion Samuelson is a retired American broadcaster, known for his agriculture broadcasts and his ability to explain agribusiness and food production in an understandable way. He was inducted into the Radio Hall of Fame in 2003.
Belt Pulley was a U.S.-based magazine dedicated to antique farm tractors of all brands and makes. It published successfully for over 2 decades and was one of the best known titles in the category. It was a family business run first by the Aumann family and then by the Elmore family. In 2009 it was sold, and the new owner eventually changed the name of the publication to Vintage Tractor Digest. This ended its publication under the Belt Pulley title.
Max Armstrong is an American agriculture broadcaster from Chicago, Illinois.
The Big Bud 747 or 16V-747 Big Bud is a large, custom-made farm tractor built in Havre, Montana, in 1977. It has 1100 horsepower. It is billed by the owners and exhibitors as the "World's Largest Farm Tractor". It is about twice the size of many of the largest production tractors in the world, depending on parameter.
Doodlebug tractor is the colloquial American English name for a home-made tractor made in the United States during World War II when production tractors were in short supply. The doodlebug of the 1940s was usually based on a 1920s or 1930s era Ford automobile which was then modified either by the complete removal or alteration of some of the vehicle body. The preservation of examples of the doodlebug tractor has become popular in New England and upstate New York where there are several clubs holding monthly meet-ups in the summer months to put their contraptions to the test by pulling large stone boats in a tractor pull.
Betsy Freese is an American editor, blogger, and radio personality who focuses on small and large-scale agriculture journalism as executive editor for Successful Farming and Living the Country Life. She was the host of both the Living the Country Life radio series and TV show. She produces the exclusive annual Pork Powerhouses ranking of the largest 25 pork producers in the U.S. and Canada.
Small Town Big Deal is an American television news magazine that runs in first-run syndication with a focus on human interest stories in rural America. The TV program is co-hosted by Rodney K. Miller and Jann Carl. Together, they travel the United States sharing inspirational stories about communities, people, events and happenings. The show first aired on September 6, 2012 on the RFD-TV network. In 2017, the show was being viewed on over 150 local stations and 80 percent of the country each week across America, including several of the ABC Owned Television Stations, which air the program in weekend morning graveyard slots, as well as low-power and digital 24-hour networks Youtoo America, AMGTV, Total Living Network, CTN Lifestyle and Heartland. Small Town Big Deal has received the Parents Television Council Seal of Approval.
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