Year Inducted: 1997
Miller Gorrie, chairman and chief executive officer of Brasfield & Gorrie, represents tremendous achievement in his professional career. Since 1964 when he purchased the assets of the Thomas C. Brasfield Company, he has guided the company’s growth from annual revenues of $800,000 to more than $400 million.
Gorrie was born and raised in Birmingham, Alabama. He received a Bachelor of Civil Engineering degree from Auburn University in 1957. After graduation, his professional expertise contributed to the success of several companies before the founding of Brasfield & Gorrie General Contractor in 1964. Under his leadership, this once local company has become a general contractor with more than 1,200 employees and offices in Alabama, Georgia, and Florida. The company has grown to be a preeminent contractor in the southeastern region of the United States.
Brasfield and Gorrie provides construction and construction management services for a wide variety of projects, from landmark commercial structures to industrial plants. Current major projects include Celebration Health near Orlando, Florida ($50 million); BellSouth Telecommunications Restoration, Birmingham, Alabama ($40million); and HEALTHSOUTH Corporate Headquarters, Birmingham, Alabama ($42 million). It enjoys an excellent reputation based on the quality of the work that it performs. Clients know that the firm will do an excellent job and that any problems that might arise will be resolved in a fair and professional manner. This is the solid reputation of the company and it reflects the integrity and professionalism to which Miller Gorrie subscribes and which he demands of his employees.
Since 1975, Brasfield and Gorrie has been consistently listed among the nation’s top contractors and is currently ranked 57th in Engineering News Record’s 1996 list of “Top 100 Contractors.”
From college days to the present, Miller Gorrie has emerged as a leader in almost every organization that he has touched. He is a long-term member of the Associated General Contractors, International Council of Shopping Centers, and the National Association of Industrial and Office Parks. He has honored his obligation to contribute his talents to the civic needs of his community and has done so in a most commendable way. He has served on numerous boards of directors and currently serves as a director for ACIPCO, AmSouth Bank, Baptist Hospital Foundation, Birmingham Construction Industry Authority, Colonial Properties Trust, MDB, Medical Center East Foundation, Southern Research Institute, UAB President’s Council and Winsloew Furniture. He has contributed much time and energy to the All-American Bowl, the Crohn’s & Colitis Foundation of America, United Way, and the Alexis de Tocqueville Society. He received the “Outstanding Corporate Citizen” Award from the National Society of Fund Raising Executives, the “Tree of Life” Award from the Jewish National Fund and the “Hope” Award from the Multiple Sclerosis Society. In 1987, with his wife, Frances, he founded the Cloister Creek Educational Center for young adults with learning disabilities.
Miller and Frances Gorrie currently reside in Birmingham, Alabama. They have three children and five grandchildren.
