2023 Premier's Excellence in Leadership Award
This award recognizes a contribution to Government and citizens of PEI, resulting in a positive impact, while demonstrating excellence in leadership that embodies the overarching Public Service Leadership Competencies: Influence and Self Awareness, Builds Relationships, Leads Others, and Focuses on Results.
We are pleased to announce this year's winner as Philip Gotell for his work in Transportation and Infrastructure on Post-Tropical Storm Fiona Residential Tree Clean-Up!
Last September, after Hurricane Fiona ravaged damage across Prince Edward Island, residents could submit a request for assistance for property tree clean-up. Over 8,000 requests were received, nothing of this scale or structure had ever been undertaken before. Phil was tasked with developing a program to address these requests from initial submission to final completion and had to use innovative thinking in order to prioritize while considering critical safety, level of damage, field resources, geography, and socio-impacts, all the while communicating and coordinating with several groups including residents, contractors, utilities, non-profits, staff, ITSS, Access PEI, municipalities, and the Emergency Measures Organization.
Phil’s leadership was key to successfully delivering this program to residents. He developed and fostered many relationships, which were crucial for this program to succeed and inspired a strong team around him by focusing on goals and recognizing them through gratitude and appreciation. Phil also created a systematic program that tracked each request from start to finish creating consistency and demonstrated strong fiscal management of government funds. The impact was immense to many residents across the province, especially to those more vulnerable and less fortunate. With the impacts of climate change and future adverse weather events, we want to thank Phil and his team for stepping up to support the needs and safety of all Islanders during an extremely stressful time.
Congratulations Phil!
Pictured (L-R): Phillip Gotell, Premier Dennis King