The Times - Serving Waitsburg, Dayton and the Touchet Valley

WAITSBURG – The Waitsburg Commercial Club awarded the 2016 Waitsburg Community Service Award – formerly known as the Citizen of the Year Award – to longtime resident and tireless volunteer, Mary Phillips, at their annual meeting on Tuesday, April, 5. Phillips joins the ranks of more than 50 individuals to receive the award, beginning with Ernest Kison in 1962 and continuing through Kate Hockersmith in 2015.

Beginning in 2015, the Commercial Club decided to broaden their recognition base and honor a Business of the Year. Last year, that first award went to Waitsburg Grocery. This year, the Waitsburg Clinic was named Business of the Year.

Phillips was chosen in response to a joint letter of recommendation submitted by Larry and Deanne Johnson and Ike and B.A. Keve. The nomination letter reads as follows:

This is an important year in the life of Waitsburg, being the 150th anniversary of its founding. That being said, I believe we should look long and hard at the families that have lived, supported, and worked in our community for many years.

One individual comes to my mind immediately, and that is Mary Phillips. She is a longtime citizen of Waitsburg.  Even though she moved away for a period, she did finally return. And when she did return she didn't miss a beat. 

One thing that bears mentioning, is Mary had a birthday party for her former employer Louie Gammon, who was, at that time, confined to Booker (Rest Home). All appreciated the attention. 

Mary showed us all what real love is, by our witnessing her inspirational and loving care of her husband, Bud. She is quite a woman.

Mary is very caring individual, making sure her relatives and friends, like Bernard Donnelly, who was also confined to Booker Rest Home, received the attention he deserved. She went to Dayton to visit Bernard, she took him on drives and to St. Joseph Catholic Church for Mass. How he loved that!  Many from Waitsburg were invited and attended, as did several other people from the area. It was evident how much it meant to him.   

Mary has been a real blessing to St. Mark ever since she moved back home. She has been St. Mark's Alter Society President since 2011 and will be a hard act for anyone to follow.

For the last five years Mary has been a member of the board of Main St. Dayton Charities, a non-profit Washington State corp., which owns and maintains the non -profit campus that is used by St. Vincent de Paul and Project Timothy crisis services agency for Columbia County. The parishes of St Joseph and St Mark founded both charities. The two charities were at risk because of rising rents. Main St. Dayton Charities purchased the property the two charities occupy for their charitable services and maintain it to meet the needs of their services.

Times File Photo

Waitsburg Clinic staffers (l to r) Rebecca Thompson, Brianna Collier, Marilyn Johnson, Amanda Jennings, and Kortney Killgore-Smith received a Certificate of Thanks from Waitsburg Eastern Star representative Nancy Otterson last week. The Waitsburg Clinic was named Waitsburg Commercial Club 2016 Business of the Year at Tuesday night's award ceremony at The Q Wood-Fired Grill in Waitsburg.

Several years ago, Mary purchased a home in Waitsburg, on Fourth Street. This home had once belonged to the Wilson family, the parents of Mrs. Carolyn Bruce. After a few years, she donated this home to the Historical Society, so their campus could be expanded. Mary joined the Historical Society board, and has been serving since. She has worked in numerous ways towards making the Bruce Mansion complex beautiful and functional.

As if that's not enough, when Bettie Chase passed away, Mary took the reins (as historian), and has worked closely with Wes Leid on the Waitsburg Alumni Board as well as the WHS board. Mary makes her Waitsburg family her top priority and it shows!

Commercial Club member Kathy Pickel wrote the following nomination letter praising the work of the Waitsburg Clinic.

I would like to nominate the Waitsburg Clinic for Business of the Year 2016. The Clinic provides such an important service to our community by ensuring the health and wellness of many community members and others living in the surrounding area.

They provide excellent service with genuine care and efficiency.