The Manhattan Area Chamber of Commerce has awarded former Kansas legislator and 2006 Leadership Manhattan graduate Tom Phillips with the Lyle Butler Distinguished Service Award.
The chamber presents the award each year to a Leadership Manhattan alumnus for exemplary community service.
Phillips has served in a number of government and organizational leadership roles over the years, most recently as a member of the chamber’s Business Advocacy Committee and leader of their Growth Task Force.
From 2012 to 2021, he represented the 67th District in the Kansas House of Representatives.
Prior to his stint in Topeka, Phillips served as a Manhattan City Commissioner in 2005, as Mayor of Manhattan in 2007 and also as a member of the Riley County Law Board and urban planning board.
Outside of government, Phillips has served as president of the Boys and Girls Club of Manhattan and the United Way of Riley County.
In addition to his most recent award, Phillips was recognized as the Lud Fiser Citizen of the Year by the Manhattan Area Chamber of Commerce in 2016 and as Rotarian of the Year by the Manhattan-Konza Rotary Club in 2009.
Phillips grew up in Fort Scott before moving to Manhattan to attend Kansas State University. He would go on to graduate with a bachelor’s degree in geography and a master’s in regional and community planning.
After graduation, Phillips would eventually become the director of planning and development for the City of Lenexa before relocating to Manhattan with his family to start a consulting firm.
Leadership Manhattan is a four-month program put on by the Manhattan Area Chamber of Commerce that educates participants on “state and local government, community awareness and Manhattan’s economy.”
The most recent Leadership Manhattan class of 15 participants completed the program on April 15.
