Nick Miller
Grounds Coordinator // City of Aurora Parks and Recreation
2024 Class of Pioneers in the Field

On any given Saturday in September, Nick Miller looks like any other parent watching his kids play soccer in Aurora, Ohio. While the other parents in attendance appreciate being able to watch their kids play, for Miller the reward holds double meaning. Miller's career as the Grounds Coordinator for the City of Aurora Parks and Recreation has afforded him the opportunity to see his kids enjoy the fruits of his labor. For Miller, enjoying a morning with his family is what Parks and Rec is all about.

Aurora is a small, charming town with family-centric, community values. Miller takes the same roads to work that his parents took to drop him off at school as a kid. Those same roads lead to his home in the center of town that he shares with his wife and two daughters. Miller’s story shares the same backdrop as the one he’s creating for his family and the one he helps write for the other kids in his hometown. Choosing the Parks and Rec route was a deliberate decision by Miller to spend more time in his own community, with his own family. 

After getting his start at Walden Country Club in high school, Miller spent almost 11 years with the golf course working his way up to assistant golf course superintendent. During that time he completed his degree in horticulture at Kent State University. Miller then spent some time with the Davey Tree Company before joining the City of Aurora team. Miller would spend 8 months in the Service Department with his eyes always set on getting back to grass and maintaining grounds. When the opportunity presented itself to transition to the Parks and Recreation Department, Miller jumped in head first, excited for the new challenge.

Miller attributes his start in the industry and his desire to work with grass to Ron Skok, who took him in as a kid and trusted him with a rake and mower. “A lot of my knowledge comes from Ron and his assistant John at Walden Country Club. I worked for them as a kid. I don’t even think I could drive back then. I stayed with them through college and I still reach out to Ron as a resource today. He and his wife are godparents to my oldest daughter. The kind of camaraderie and culture I found in my very first job is carried throughout my career.” 

Ron Skok was happy to hear his former employee was receiving recognition for the changes he has made in the Aurora community. Skok said, “Nick’s dedication is what sets him apart. He never wants to let anyone down and always delivers the best product. He’s reliable in all avenues of his life; with his family, his crew, and his community. Nick has really elevated how things are done in town, through renovating several fields and implementing a fertility program. I was extremely proud of him when he won the Sports Field Management Association's mowing contest in 2022. It was well deserved. While I would take him back on the course any day, I love that Parks and Rec has given him those extra hours with the ones who make him happiest, his girls.” 

"Nick’s dedication is what sets him apart. He never wants to let anyone down and always delivers the best product. He’s reliable in all avenues of his life; with his family, his crew, and his community. Nick has really elevated how things are done in town, through renovating several fields and implementing a fertility program..."

Ron Skok, Walden Country Club

Miller aspires to be known as a community member who whole-heartertly dedicates himself to enhancing the sports fields for families in his town. He has been lucky to call the green industry his home for the entirety of his career and witness, at various levels, the amount of pride that goes into our jobs. Miller said, “I have spent my whole career in the ‘green industry’, from golf course maintenance, to fixing sprinkler systems, and currently, managing sports fields. I've been lucky to experience most of what this industry involves. To others, it might seem like it’s just cutting grass, but it’s so much more than that. To me it’s the things no one sees you doing that separate a decent field from a great field.”

Completing the small or simple tasks that make Miller’s fields great is something he and his crew take pride in. While driving through the small town, Miller said, “I have a lot of pride in the job I do. I live here and am surrounded by the results. My family sees it, and everyone I live here with sees it too. That pride goes a long way. When you get the opportunity to showcase what you love doing for everyone – our kids, our friends, their kids – it’s really, really special. It’s extremely rewarding to go see my daughters play soccer on Saturday mornings at the field I spent all week trying to make perfect and to be surrounded by other families who appreciate the work we put in. Micky (Cook) shares that same pride. Micky knows what needs to be done every day and attacks the to-do list with me. I can always count on him to do the job right.”

"I have a lot of pride in the job I do. I live here and am surrounded by the results. My family sees it, and everyone I live here with sees it too. That pride goes a long way. When you get the opportunity to showcase what you love doing for everyone – our kids, our friends, their kids – it’s really, really special..."

Nick Miller

Jobs in our industry are in many ways much more than 9-5 gigs. They often shape who we are as people, on and off the field. For Nick Miller, bringing value to the community he was raised in, perfecting the fields his daughters play on, and sitting on the sideline with parents he is friends with, reassures him that choosing a career in Parks and Recreation was the right decision.