Council members were effusive in their praise for departing city council member Patty Philipps, a 19-year veteran of the council, who told council members at their last meeting, on February 1, that the March 7 meeting would be her last.
She and her husband Andrew plan to move to Oriental, on the North Carolina coast, she told the council then, where Philipps indicated they already have a vacation home and a 40-foot sailboat. Among future plans she told The Alamance News at the time is a summer cruise on the sailboat to Cape Cod.
Mayor Ed Hooks read a resolution of appreciation for her years of service on the city council to Philipps before presenting her with a framed copy of it.
He also presented her with a Mebane logo brick sculpture, hand sculpted by North Carolina artist Brad Spencer of Reidsville.
Most council members focused on their interactions with Philipps as a member of the city council.
She was heralded for her preparedness for council meetings and her collegial attitude toward colleagues.
Council member Montrena Hadley, who joined the council at the December meeting, noted that her she had enjoyed working with Philipps since Hadley was elected in November, as well as when she was a city employee in the planning department for many years before.
Likewise, new councilman Jonathan White, the other newest member who joined the council in December, recalled decades ago when he worked with Philipps’ husband, Andrew, as a soccer coach for their daughters’ soccer team.
Fighting back tears, Philipps, 59, thanked council members for their kind send-off salutes and said it had been a “true honor” to have served Mebane on the city council.
See earlier coverage of Philipps’ resignation announcement during February 1, 2022 council meeting: https://alamancenews.com/long-time-mebane-council-member-patty-philipps-to-resign-move-from-mebane/
