Van G. Miller has been named the one of the Upper Midwest EY Entrepreneurs of the Year, The VGM Group has announced.

Miller, who founded the member services organization headquartered in Waterloo, Iowa, and serves as its CEO, said of the award, “I owe it all to the associates.”

VGM said Miller was referring to the more than 600 people currently employed by VGM in its various divisions, including U.S. Rehab and Accessible Home Improvement of America.

The EY (Ernst & Young) Entrepreneur of the Year program was launched in 1993 and now spans more than 140 cities in 50 countries to represent more than 90 percent of the global economy, according to the program’s Web site.

Jim Walsh, president and general counsel for The VGM Group, said of the award, “Van well deserves this recognition. He thinks of those who work for his company first, and his community second. His consummate skill in managing talent and making hard decisions is evident to all who know him.”

As evidence of his associates-centered mindset, VGM said Miller skipped the EY Entrepreneur of the Year award presentation so he could instead attend the Heartland Conference’s gala, one of the major events of VGM’s annual education event in Waterloo.