Shire of Wagin President Phil Blight honoured to receive Eminent Service Award

Shire of Wagin president and long-time councillor Phil Blight received one of WA local government’s top honours last week for his commitment to council. The Eminent Service Award is one of the three major honours, alongside the Local Government Medal and Life Membership Award, handed out as part of the annual WA Local Government Convention. Mr Blight, who has been a Wagin councillor since 1992 and served as president for the past 14 years, said receiving the Eminent Service Award in Perth was a special moment. He was the only person to receive the award this year. He said becoming a councillor had felt like a natural progression after his involvement in committees and he had stayed on council because there was always something else to work towards. “There’s always something on the horizon, there’s always a new challenge or a new task or a new issue,” he said. “You see that coming then you anticipate having some input into it and seeing it through — it flows along. “Right now there are a few changes that are mooted by the State Government so we’re looking at how that is going to play out.” Mr Blight also serves as the Central Country zone representative on WALGA’s State Council. He said it was interesting to see how local government strategic issues impacted communities locally. WALGA president Karen President Chappel said Mr Blight was an outstanding community leader and deserving winner of the Eminent Service Award. “He is a strong visionary leader, enthusiastic and passionate about Wagin and does not shy away from dealing with challenging issues,” she said. “Phil serves on numerous committees and is a critical and effective voice for not only his region, but all country regions in WA.” Other local governments from the region also featured at the WA Local Government Convention awards. Former Shire of Narrogin corporate and community services executive manager Frank Ludovico received a Local Government Distinguished Officer Award in recognition of outstanding contributions as employee. Former councillors Theresa Fancote and Keith House received Local Government Merit Awards as elected members who demonstrated distinguished service during their time on the shire of Brookton and Gnowangerup councils respectively. Former Shire of Cuballing president Mark Conley received the same honour, as did Russel Thomson, who continues to serve as a councillor with the Shire of Woodanilling. Mr Blight said support from his wife and family had been crucial during his 30-year stint on council. “They’ve put up with a lot along the way, so it’s all part of a combined effort,” he said. “The chief executives that I’ve worked with along the way have been terrific mentoring and supporting what we do as councillors — I’ve worked with a few CEOs over the years and we’ve been pretty lucky in that regard. “I also need to thank all the past presidents and councillors I’ve served alongside because you have to work as a team to get things done for your community.” He said he had never expected to serve as a councillor for so long. “I’ve often told people that you don’t actually see your end date when you start in local government, it just keeps rolling on,” he said. “Even now I’m not specifically sure of an end date, but I think it’s getting closer.”