At the December meeting, the Town Council welcomed special guest former-Mayor Harold Ofstie to honor him for his service to the community via a proclamation that conferred upon him the Town's highest commendation, as a true friend, advisor and mentor of the Town of Orchid.
Harold Ofstie, a longtime and active resident of the Town affectionally known in the community as “Hal”, was unopposed in the Town election of 2012 and on November 7 of that year was seated on the Town Council to serve a four-year term, and during this first meeting was selected by his fellow Councilmembers to serve as Mayor, and was subsequently reselected for that role every year since, including following his unopposed re-election in 2016.
The proclamation described how Harold Ofstie guided eighty eight Town Council meetings regarding a vast diversity of subjects over his eight years as Mayor, always with an even hand and an open mind, ensuring that all voices had an opportunity to be heard and all possibilities a chance to be considered; and that he further served the Town with bold, “big picture” thinking, his approachability to residents, his strong sense of fiscal responsibility to Town tax payers, and his generous support of Town Hall staff members.
The proclamation underscored that the Town Council sincerely expresses its overwhelming gratitude to Harold Ofstie for the manner in which he devotedly and steadfastly performed his duties over eight years as Mayor of the Town Council.
Mayor Gibbons presented former-Mayor Ofstie with the proclamation and a gift of a personalized crystal paperweight engraved with the Town seal. He thanked former-Mayor Ofstie for his wonderful leadership, during which he’d built consensus and dealt with many important, and sometimes controversial, issues. He added that he appreciated that former-Mayor Ofstie had left the Town Council in a wonderful position financially and otherwise.
Former-Mayor Ofstie shared that his eight-year tenure had been interesting, challenging and enjoyable. He stated that the Town Council had been terrific, as had the Town Attorney been. He lavished praise on the current team of staff members, who had not just replaced a complete turnover of staff, but had improved the Town’s operations substantially. He concluded that he particularly prided himself on the pleasant and non-confrontational nature of the Town Council’s meetings under his guidance.
The Town Manager presented former-Mayor Ofstie with the gavel he had wielded over the past eight years as Mayor and jokingly presented him with a bag of whole walnuts for which the gavel might now come in handy. All of the members of the Town Council and staff had also signed a “nutty” and personalized card.
