CELEBRATION
ST. LUCIE BATTERY & TIRE HITS HALF-CENTURY MARK
St. Lucie Battery & Tire’s signature location is on the corner of U.S. 1 in downtown Fort Pierce.
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TCBusiness.com
There is an adage in business: “If you
take care of your community, success will
follow.” Today, the world has changed.
Small corporations can be crushed under
the weight of the modern world. With a
global change in how business works,
local businesses have shifted their focus
to the areas they serve. They are growing
from the inside of communities and pushing
out for success.
The Treasure Coast is an example of a
place that loves to develop communityfocused
success. When communities are
adequately taken care of, local businesses
see that devotion is repaid.
In 1971, Fort Pierce and the surrounding
areas were agricultural communities. If you
drove out west of town back then, out by
where I-95 now is, you’d find the Miller Egg
Farm, with a small shop where Joey Miller,
an ambitious young man, was selling and
delivering his family’s eggs.
One day, as Miller was on his egg delivery
routes, he found batteries on the side
of the road, dead, useless. Then it was, all
those years ago, that Miller looked beyond
his family farm and saw the batteries as a
way to supplement his income and provide
a service for the community.
A few years into rebuilding batteries and
selling farm tires, the oil crisis struck the
nation. The Treasure Coast was in a financial
downturn, but there was still a need
for maintenance. Exponential growth during
an economic recession and a reputation
for reliable service set the foundation
for St. Lucie Battery & Tire.
In the following decades, the chicken
farm became the service center. Ambition
and hard work set the standard for honest
and reliable service. Miller planted the
seeds of a business that would sprawl into
16 full-time locations across South Florida.
For 50 years, St. Lucie Battery & Tire has
focused not only on integrity but also on
the communities it serves. After 20 years
of successful operations, it unintentionally
started a renaissance in downtown
Fort Pierce by rebuilding the facade on
its downtown marquee and setting a
new standard for the city. The business, at
the corner of U.S. 1 and Orange Avenue,
became a staple of Fort Pierce. The Miller
family also was instrumental in the restoration
of the historical Sunrise Theatre and
other city projects.
The focus on community hasn’t
stopped. Doug Miller continues the good
work of his father, who, though retired, is
still involved in how St. Lucie Battery & Tire
operates. The younger Miller continues
to expand the company with the same
focused, honest and reliable service to the
Treasure Coast and beyond.
St. Lucie Battery & Tire has thrived for a
half-century because it is honest, and has
integrity and a devotion to its craft. v
BY MICHAEL P. SCHNEIDER
Doug Miller is president of St. Lucie Battery & Tire,
which is celebrating its 50th anniversary.
/TCBusiness.com