Orion Township Supervisor Chris Barnett received the Michael A. Guido Leadership and Public Service Award on March 18 for his contributions to his community and state.

The award is one of the most prestigious individual honors given by the Michigan Municipal League (MML).

Barnett received the recognition during the League’s 2021 virtual Capital Conference.

“Receiving this recognition from fellow municipal leaders is an honor of the highest level. Doing the work of a township manager is all about helping people and ensuring our communities offer the very best services so that people and businesses want to locate there and others want to visit,” Barnett said.

Barnett has served as Orion Township supervisor since 2012.

Westland Mayor and League Board President William Wild helped lead the selection committee and said he has been impressed with Barnett’s leadership.

“The very best municipal leaders recognize that no community is an island, and the long hours Chris Barnett has put in to ensure his community is engaged at the local, regional, and state level has helped ensure better policy outcomes and better services for Orion Township, and for communities across the state,” Wild said.

As supervisor, Barnett has embraced the township’s motto “Where living is a vacation” by bringing the community’s parks and trails to life, an MML media communication about the award stated.

Barnett has also made sure the township is an active member of the local community, ensuring it is present and represented on organizations such as the Lake Orion Downtown Development Authority, Dutton Farms, Orion Area Chamber of Commerce, North Oakland Community Coalition and the Orion Veterans Memorial boards.

Barnett serves as president of the Oakland County Association of Township Supervisors and vice chair of the Southeast Michigan Council of Governments (SEMCOG), where he also sits on the Finance and Budget Committee.

Barnett is also the past president of the Oakland County Chapter of the Michigan Townships Association.

The Michigan Municipal League’s Michael A. Guido Leadership and Public Service Award honors “a chief elected official who personifies professionalism and leadership, is an active League member, is dedicated to the citizens in their community and advocates on their behalf in Lansing and Washington, D.C.,” the MML stated.

The nominating committee consists of the MML president and vice president, as well as the Michigan Association of Mayors president and vice president. – J.N.