By BOB SHRALUKA
WZBD.com
Nearly everyone entering City Hall’s council chambers for the April 4 meetings of the board of works and safety, which precedes the city council meeting, did a “double take.”
Sitting up front, to the right of Mayor Dan Rickord, was Wendi Gephart (see photo), longtime assistant to the city’s clerk-treasurer, Phyllis Whitright. The prevailing, general thought was, “Wait a minute, where’s Phyllis?”
Gephart was filling in for Whitright, who was with her husband, Jim, after he had had surgery the previous day. (He’s doing well, now.)
No one could remember not seeing Phyllis at meetings of the council and the board of works. An agreed consensus among Mayor Dan Rickord and others was that this was the second time she had not been there.
Turns out, that was correct. Only the second meeting she’s ever missed.
The remarkable aspect of that is that Phyllis Whitright became clerk-treasurer in August of 1997 (filling a vacated term). That’s 26 years. Six four-year terms. Under four mayors. And in two city halls.
And in all those years she has missed two meetings. Two!
Whitright – who will be retiring at the end of the year – won the 2022 Financial Management Award presented by the Accelerate Indiana Municipalities.
In Mayor Dan Rickord’s recommendation for the award, he wrote that Whitright’s length of service “has been a steadying force as other city officials come and go. Her kindness and willingness to explain the ‘ins’ and ‘outs’ of city government to new mayors, new council members and other newly appointed department heads and city officials has allowed for seamless transitions from one administration to the next and has truly enhanced continuity services provided for all citizens of Decatur.”