Tammy Miller - An Eye Opener

Tammy was born on Father Day in Anderson, South Carolina.  Her childhood years were in Bowersville, which is in Northeast Georgia, where her mother worked in a textile plant and her father drove a truck for a Lavonia roller mill.  Some things in life never change, and Tammy still resides in Bowersville. Tammy graduated from Hart County High majoring in meeting her future husband, Jimmy.  Jimmy is four years older than Tammy, hence they met at her best friend’s home where Jimmy was friends with the friend’s brother. Confusing but worth it as the relationship matured to a marriage of thirty-one years.  They married after Tammy graduated from High School and relocated to Athens to be closer to Jimmy’s job.  Jimmy has worked for thirty-three years as a sheet metal mechanic for C & M Mechanical and still counting.

Tammy found work at Revco (now CVS) and their first son Nathan was born.  Nathan is now twenty-eight and resides in Hart County where Tammy enjoys his two children, ages seven and three.  Eleven months and one day after Nathan’s birth, Tammy’s second child Jeremy was born.  Jeremy now lives in Starr, South Carolina.      

When Jeremy was nine months old, the family moved back to Bowersville where Tammy returned to work at textile manufacturer Gip’s in Hartwell, GA making men’s dress pants.  After thirteen and a half years of handling zippers on men’s pants, Tammy needed a change.  The solution was becoming an Optometrist Tech.  Tammy has worked at the Eye Care Center in Bowersville for the past thirteen years. If you can see when you visit the Eye Care Center, you will find Tammy does it all but perform the actual eye exam.  She makes your appointment, pretests you, files your insurance claim, and manages the office staff.  

Tammy is a pet lover, with a kennel currently consisting of Elvis, an eleven-year old Chihuahua, Leo, a four-year old Dachshund, and Sally, a six-year old Dachshund rescue.  Tammy noticed that Sally does run “a little funny but doesn’t let that slow her down”.  At age forty, Tammy did not want to slow down and decided to run a 5K.  You guessed it, her first race was the True Love Canine 5K in Winterville at Pittard Park.  If any race supports or benefits animal rescue, Tammy is now off and running.  She and Jimmy discovered the Black Bag Race Series in 2015.  Tammy placed fourth in her 45-49 female age group that year.  She progressed to rank second in her age group in 2017 in Black Bag, Clover Glove, the Run and See Georgia Race Series, and first in the AAA Health Race Series.  Her first Half Marathon was the Atlanta Half on Thanksgiving Day in 2017, and at mile ten she swore that she would never attempt this again. Three weeks later she registered to enter the half marathon in Cherokee, North Carolina in October 2018.

Her hobbies are grandchildren, camping (if there is electricity and Internet), cruises, and shopping. Tammy has “made a lot of new running friends” and misses “seeing everyone every weekend now as we have slowed down some this year”.           

Bob checking out from the back of the pack.  Look for the profile on Mark Polson, and transplanted Athenian Fran Fussell.