Potomac Recognizes Ransom Miller III with Award for Exemplary Service

On January 17, The Potomac School announced the recipient of its annual Award for Exemplary Service, which recognizes individuals in the wider community who are making an important difference through service to others. Ransom Miller III, founder of Project GiveBack, received the award during a school-wide assembly honoring the life and legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

Miller founded Project GiveBack nearly 30 years ago. The community service organization is recognized as one of the region’s most impactful charities which has supported over 52,000 area residents. Project GiveBack provides vital services to underprivileged families in Washington, D.C., including food distributions, school supplies, and holiday celebrations. 

Potomac’s director of community engagement, James Hightower III, notes, “This award is presented to those who make a difference through service, improving lives, and helping to strengthen their communities.” Hightower continues, “I hope that we will find inspiration in the efforts of our honoree Mr. Ransom Miller as we all continue working to respond to Dr. King’s question in our own lives.”

During the assembly, Miller encouraged everyone to work together as a community saying, “then you can do great things, we can only do so much alone.”

Project GiveBack is sponsored by major corporations like UPS and EventsDC, and has support from more than 40 other organizations. Project GiveBack’s primary program is The Annual Thanksgiving Food Distribution which has provided over 40,000 grocery baskets since 1995. Recently, 1,500 volunteers participated in this initiative which was recognized as the largest in the region. 

Upon receiving the award, Miller reflected, “Martin Luther King, Jr. once said, ‘Everybody can be great, because anybody can serve.’ I interpret that as a motivation to allow my passion to help others to be a measuring rod of my success. Project GiveBack was born from a small idea to help others, and it has grown into an army of dedicated volunteers truly making a difference in our community. The growth is due to the investment of time and talent of the superhero personalities that make up Project GiveBack.”

Over the last 30 years, Ransom has received numerous awards recognizing his leadership and volunteerism, including  recognitions from, KPMG, the Florida Avenue Baptist Church in NW Washington, DC, the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, Inc., and the National Association of Black Accountants. 

Miller currently works for Ernst & Young as a managing director focused on finance and digital transformation. At E&Y, he also serves as an advisor and mentor to managers and staff, and is an advocate of HBCU recruiting and diversity, equity and inclusion. He is a graduate of Howard University and resides in Washington, D.C. with his family who shares responsibility in leading ProjectGiveBack.

Learn more about past recipients Omari Pearson, Amanda Marshall, and Ericc Powell.