TO OUR READERS

Some people decorate their workspaces with photographs, others with bric-a-brac, still others with plants. Gabe Miller likes to fill his office with as many bags of used clothing as possible. That's because the bags will eventually be delivered to AIDS patients at Goldwater Memorial Hospital on New York City's Roosevelt Island, where Miller has long worked as a volunteer.

We are thus pleased to announce that as our new copy chief, Miller has moved to roomier quarters at SI. In his new role he oversees the trafficking and copy editing of every piece of text in the magazine, from the moment a story, headline or photo caption leaves the writer's computer to the time the words are transmitted via satellite to a printing plant. It takes dexterity to track all the elements that appear in the magazine each week, a quality Miller also demonstrates in the wondrous way he juggles career, family and community service.

In 1988 Miller received Time Inc.'s Andrew Heiskell Award, which honors employees for outstanding humanitarian contributions, chiefly for his work as coordinator of a program for Central American refugees at Manhattan's Riverside Church. A Guatemalan couple even named their third child, Josè Gabrièl, after him. Miller is now involved in Harlem Initiatives Together, a coalition of church and community groups that works on issues and develops leadership in Harlem.

Miller, who grew up in Manhattan, has a unique combination of credentials: a B.A. from Hunter College, an M.P.S. (Master of Professional Studies) from the New York Theological Seminary and an AP. Those last initials stand for the Associated Press, on whose baseball desk Miller worked while attending Hunter. "Part of my job was to take dictation on box scores," he says. "Remember Len Barker's perfect game for the Cleveland Indians in 1981? If you look it up, you might find an imperfect box score. Next to the sacrifice flies, I typed in Andre Thornton's name as Thorton."

He hasn't made many mistakes since. After his stint with AP, Miller worked at TV-CABLE WEEK before joining our copy department in the fall of 1983. In 1989 he was promoted to deputy copy chief. In the meantime he continued his studies at the seminary and has maintained his commitment to helping others. Of his work in the community he says, "The rewards have far outweighed any time I've put in. And I've met a lot of great people."

It was while volunteering at Goldwater that Miller met Lorna Benavidez, who was then the head nurse on the AIDS unit. "She was someone I admired tremendously, and I learned that even in a place where illness and death dominate, love can still emerge," says Miller. Gabe and Lorna, now an epidemiologist at Goldwater, married and live in Queens with their eight-year-old son, Jarrell.

Somehow Miller has also found time to pursue his love of music, sports and theater. About the only one of his many interests that suffers because of his breakneck schedule are his Rotisserie basketball and baseball teams, both of which were also-rans in 1993. To put it in terms that Rotisserie players would appreciate, Gabe Miller is strong in every other category.

PHOTO

JOHN IACONO

Gabe finds time for Jarrell and Lorna, too.