Dairy Queen owner honored with Greater Latrobe chamber's annual community service award

The coronavirus pandemic and the new world of social distancing it created haven’t frozen out drive-in customers seeking ice cream treats at the Dairy Queen in Unity.

Unlike many other eating establishments that focused on dine-in service, “we were fortunate to be able to run our business,” said owner Dean Miller. “We were doing fine, and other places weren’t doing fine.

“Once the pandemic hit, I thought, ‘What can we do? Maybe we can put some smiles on faces.’”

He’s done just that by donating ice cream sandwiches as a way to thank front-line workers in the community. He estimates he’s delivered as many as 6,000 of the treats to local hospital staffers, cafeteria workers at the Greater Latrobe and Derry Area school districts and employees at Latrobe’s Carclo Technical Plastics, who have been turning out collection tubes used in coronavirus testing kits.

It’s just one of the generous gestures that have earned Miller a 2020 Community Service Award by the Greater Latrobe-Laurel Valley Regional Chamber of Commerce.

Chamber officials cited Miller’s “selfless contribution of time, talents and resources to the Latrobe area. The award is the chamber’s top honor and recognizes Dean’s accomplishments as a business leader and for his many civic contributions.”

Previous community service recipients have included Chuck Anderson, Doc Giffin and “Ice Cream Joe” Greubel.

Miller, who lives in Hempfield, said he was humbled.

“I feel blessed, and I really love Latrobe,” he said. “It wouldn’t feel right if we didn’t do something. We’re all supposed to stick together.”

The chamber also recognized Miller’s support of the women’s basketball program at Saint Vincent College in Unity, local youth sports, the Action for Animals Humane Society in Derry Township and the Trooper Kenton Iwaniec Memorial Foundation. The foundation’s annual run, which honors an area native and Pennsylvania state trooper who died in a 2008 collision with an impaired driver, raises money for equipping law enforcement agencies with breathalyzer devices.

A sponsor for the Latrobe Farmers Market, Miller also has donated to local police and firefighting organizations and to the Winnie Palmer Nature Reserve, located across Route 981 from the Dairy Queen.

A pet lover, Miller placed a can at his business to collect donations for Action for Animals and then was asked to join the organization’s board. For several years, he’s organized a golf fundraiser for the humane society at the Ligonier Country Club.

The pandemic didn’t keep golfers away from the event, which raised about $23,000, according to Miller. “It was the best year we’ve had,” he said.