By BOB SHRALUKA
WZBD.com
Editor’s Note: Bob Shraluka has spent decades covering the Decatur City Council. He took the time this week to reflect on the long tenure of clerk-treasurer Phyllis Whitright.
It happened when Fred Isch was in the latter stages of his 20-year run as mayor of Decatur.
Fred was never a “politician.” Some city Republicans talked him into running – he was production manager at the Decatur Daily Democrat at the time – and he had an “R” beside his name on the ballot. But that was about as far as the party thing went with Fred.
In fact, when he first ran for mayor he shied away from the party headquarters, setting up his own.
Anyway, Fred was going for his fourth term not long after his administration had welcomed a new clerk-treasurer, Phyllis Whitright. She had been appointed to the position after her predecessor had moved out of the city.
Like Fred, Phyllis was not a “politician.” She had to have a letter beside her name on the ballot, though, and it was a “D.”
So would Isch’s “party” find an opponent for Whitright?
If there were any thoughts along those lines, Mayor Isch shot ’em down. Fred found her work to be so proficient that he told the party to refrain from finding an opponent for her.
“I told them not to put anyone up against Phyllis,” or something like that, he said to me at the time.
Now it’s over 20-plus years later and Phyllis Whitright has just stepped down as Decatur’s clerk-treasurer. She served with four mayors, two from each party, and in two city halls.
Mayor Dan Rickord (with Phyllis in photo) has estimated that during her 26 ½ years in the position, there have been something like 636 city council meetings. Phyllis missed two!
Two!
Give it a moment to let that sink in. Two out of well over 600!
And one of them came earlier this year when Phyllis received a highly-deserved state award.
No doubt there were that many other meetings, non-council meetings, that she was required to attend. Hundreds in those 26-plus years.
It is impossible to define what Phyllis Whitright has meant to this community. As Mayor Rickord alluded to one time, no one in city government ever had to be concerned about how city finances were being handled. They were being handled with efficiency, without even the tiniest of critical mistakes.
And don’t kid yourself, that isn’t the case everywhere. Not that there are that many thieves, but some who are less competent than they should be.
Again, as the mayor has pointed out, people in the state Department of Local Government Finance (DLGF), where the city’s budget goes at the end of every year, have told him they wish they had a Phyllis Whitright in many clerk-treasurer positions around the state.
Truth be known, her financial work probably receives only a cursory once-over at the state level. Those officials know that what she submits is going to prove correct in every detail.
“Her attention to detail is unmatched by anyone I have ever known,” the mayor told me at the time she received the state award. “Her dedication to the city has been shown over the years by her clean audits and her fiscal responsibility. She has always been willing to step up and help others and never complains about the countless hours she puts in for our community.”
In his nomination for the award, Rickord added: “On a personal level, Phyllis is a wonderful human being. Despite her overwhelming responsibilities, Phyllis is always willing to help others. She has a deep faith and lives her life accordingly. She is truly a servant to God and a servant to others.”
Perhaps nothing said more about this woman’s humanity than when her co-workers – Wendi Gephart and Cheri Bienz – stepped forward at the final meeting to present her with a key to the city. Both told how much they enjoyed working with Phyllis and appreciated her treatment of them.
Gephart, who had been at her side for over 13 years, wiped some tears in clearly an emotional moment.
Nothing quite tells what a person is like as the sincere thankfulness of the people she/he works with every day.