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President's Office - Johhny McDuffy Mickler, Sr.
 Going far beyond the call of duty, doing more than others expect..that is what Johnny McDuffy Mickler, Sr. is all about. A staunch supporter of public education and upward mobility for minorities in the workplace, the former President and Chief Executive Officer of the Urban League of Greater Madison, Inc., and the Greater Toledo Urban League, Inc., assumed his new duties as President and Chief Executive of the Urban League of the Upstate, Inc. on June 2, 2007. He has over 20 years experience in the movement.
The oldest of four children born to Rachel Elizabeth and John Jerry Mickler, Johnny was born in Seneca, South Carolina on November 27, 1951. When Johnny was six months old, he and his mother left Oconee County to reunite with his father, a career Air Force enlisted man stationed in Merced, California. The Mickler family lived in California for approximately eight years before deciding to move back home to South Carolina.
Seneca (South Carolina) did not offer many opportunities for a young African American couple in 1959; so each day John Jerry Mickler commuted 100 miles (round trip) to work at Donaldson Air Force Base in Greenville, SC. In 1961, the Micklers relocated permanently to Greenville, SC to be closer to Rachel’s family and the more advanced opportunities available in the growing metropolitan area.
Johnny McDuffy Mickler, Sr. attended public school in The School District of Greenville County, the largest school system in SC, from 1961 to 1969. He holds three degrees from Greenville Technical College (Accounting, Marketing and Management) and a Bachelor of Science degree (Management) from Limestone College in Gaffney, South Carolina. He has also garnered several hours toward a Master of Science degree in Human Resource Development from Clemson
University.
Employed with the Greenville Urban League from 1987 to 1992, Mr. Mickler served in many capacities --- Associate Director of Employment/Economic Development; Vice President/Chief Operating Officer; and then Interim President/Chief Executive Officer.
Before joining the Urban League Movement, Mr. Mickler worked for 16 years with CRS Sirrine (formerly J.E. Sirrine), and architectural/engineering design company, which previously was listed in Engineering News Record as #1 in the World in the design of pulp and paper mills. Mr. Mickler held many positions while employed with CRS Sirrine and at his departure had bootstrapped his way to the realm of Cost Analyst I., a position that put him in charge of maintaining the costs on numerous multi-million dollar construction projects.
Johnny McDuffy Mickler, Sr., has shared his time and talents with many civic groups and boards in the past. They were: The Downtown Madison Rotary Club, Downtown Madison Kiwanis International, United Way Foundation/Allocation Committee Member, MANN Foundation Advisory Board Member, Member of Superintendent’s Human Relations Advisory Council, Member of 100 Black Men of Madison, Chair-Education Committee – Ethnic Roundtable, Urban Open Space Foundation, Inc., Board of Trustees/Medical College of Ohio Foundation, Member of Downtown Toledo Rotary Club, Member of NAACP (Toledo Branch),Chair/Toledo Public School Affirmative Action Committee, Vice-Chair and Chair-Elect of Ohio Council of Urban League, Inc., Trustee/Northwest Chamber of Commerce, Board Member/Corporation of Effective Government, Board Member/Toledo Excel and Prep./Tech., Board Member/Owens Community College Foundation, Inducted into the Sigma Pi Phi, Alpha Phi Boule (first of the African-American Greek-Letter Fraternities), and the United Negro College Fund.
Johnny is a long-time member of Springfield Baptist Church, the oldest African American church in Greenville, SC. He is married to Tamara Thompson-Mickler, a freelance journalist and PR Specialist. They have two sons: Johnny Jr., 37, who attended Alabama A&M University and 13-years-old Caleb Alexander. |
